Seeking a Way
by SassyLilPanda
Summary: Riku, along with King Mickey, commit themselves to finding a safe place for Sora to sleep while Naminé works to piece together Sora's memory. Riku takes his own, personal journey, searching for ways to conquer the darkness inside of him. Through his perilous journey, Naminé provides the comfort he needs and the support to show him the way, no matter how much he lies to himself.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Hallow Bastion

It was cold and bleak, with traces left of darkness over from it's former inhabitants, and it sent a horrible shiver down Riku's spine. He and his traveling companion, King Mickey himself, had arrived in Hallow Bastion, which in truth was the last place the silver-haired, young man wanted to find himself again, but alas, they were working on carrying out two very important missions. First of all, they had to find a safe place to move Sora. He was left in a sleep pod in Castle Oblivion, which was where the members of the Organization currently resided. No way were Riku or the King going to allow Sora to sleep there when the Organization could so easily get their hands on him. Second, once they knew Sora would be safe, Riku and King Mickey had resolved to both looking deeper into what the Organization could be planning, though they both knew in part that the Organization wanted Sora's power. This was why they needed to get him away from the castle as quickly as possible, and do it without being caught.

So, they began their journey, checking different worlds and different places that could be applicable and safe for Sora to sleep in peace while the small, blonde Nobody, responsible for Sora's slumber, re-pieced together the young Keyblade wielder's memories. Sora had gone looking for his best friend, and upon his arrival in Castle Oblivion, he began losing his memories. The further he moved through the castle, the more he lost until he was forgetting people he had once known, namely Kairi, and things he'd once did. Instead, Naminé had been responsible for the memory mishap, replacing Kairi with herself. Now, remorseful at what she had done due to sheer loneliness, she was working on linking them together once more, but Riku and King Mickey had agreed with Namine and DiZ alike that Sora needed to be moved to a safer location. Riku and King Mickey both knew of the friends Sora had made on his journey and that some of them now resided in Hallow Bastion, which was currently undergoing restoration from the Heartless invasion and Maleficent's cruel reign of terror.

Riku and Mickey, donned in the black Organization coats, traversed through the desolate grounds, running into the stray Heartless here and there, fighting them off with ease and pose, Soul Eater and Keyblade in hand. They continued their their journey unscathed into the heart of the town where Sora's friends were hoped to be. Riku tried to ignore the horrible sensation in his chest as he and Mickey made their descent through Hallow Bastion, and upon arrival at the crystal fissure, the pressure overwhelmed him. Riku groaned, grabbing at his chest with one hand, squeezing his aquamarine eyes shut tight and went to one knee. He tried to ignore the sensation of darkness attempting to wrap around his heart like long, evil tendrils along with the menacing, familiar voice echoing within the confines of his aching head.

_Riku... aren't you happy to be back? This is where you allowed darkness to fully take control over you. You're here once more. It's calling you. Darkness is calling you. It wants to draw you back into the void. Don't fear the darkness, Riku. You once found comfort here. You can find it again._

Comfort? He felt absolutely no comfort here. In fact, he was uncomfortable, cold and miserable being back in this place. "Ugh," Riku moaned out, and Mickey whirled around to where his companion sat knelt on the ground on one knee clutching at his chest, fingers clenching the fabric of his black coat, as though his hand were trying to wrap around his own heart.

"Riku!" Mickey began as he reached out to try and help his friend, but Riku held up one gloved hand to stop him.

"I'm fine. I'm okay. Just give me a minute," Riku insisted, breathing slightly labored. He's lying to himself and to the king and he knows it, but he the boy does not want anyone worrying about him right now. There were things more important than his issues. He rose once more to his feet, gathering his bearings, holding his ivory head up again, eyes pierced ahead and began walking away from a very worried King, determined to reach his next destination. Riku could hear Mickey sigh sadly, knowing that the small King wanted to open his mouth and say something, but instead just picked up his pace and ran to catch up, taking his place once more at the young man's side. _No way... No way would I ever let you tempt me into fading back into darkness, so just shut up! Especially not here. Ugh... I wish we hadn't come here. I could seriously do without these memories... _

"Riku, I'm just-," the mouse began, but Riku just shook his head at his friend, interrupting him.

"Mickey, I understand, but not here and not now. Please. We need to press onward. We have work to do." Riku closed his words with affirmation in his tone. He wasn't trying to disrespect the King, but this was honestly something he did not want to get into about right now, because in truth, if he did. If he even tried, the dam might burst, and there was no way in hell he was going to allow something like that to happen. Not now anyway. There were too many important things lying ahead that needed to be done before Riku could even think to try and figure his own self out. He looked down at the worried King and gave him a small smile, trying to make Mickey believe he was fine. "Sora comes first."

"Right! Let's go find Leon," Mickey replied, getting the hint, and RIku was incredibly grateful. The silver haired youth was unsure of how long they walked before they had finally reached a destination in the town. It was a little house, just on the outskirts of the Bailey in a small corner. "I'm fairly certain that this is where Merlin lives," the mouse stated matter-of-factly, taking the lead and walking toward the door. He raised a fist and knocked three times. The door opened before Riku and Mickey, and a tall man, dressed in black pants, a black leather jacket with a fur collar, long brunette hair and a thin, defined scar in between his eyes that crossed diagonally over his nose with piercing, blue eyes answered the door.

"And you are?" his deep voice questioned, cold and untrusting.

_Wow... sounds like me... _Riku thought to himself as he folded his arms over his chest. "You know Sora, right?" he began stepping forward, not missing a beat.

"Sora? Who are you guys anyway and what do you want here? Why are you wearing those coats?"

"You certainly ask a lot of questions," grumbled Riku, sounding annoyed. He just wanted a place to keep his best friend safe, and what would be safer than keeping him with people that Sora knew? Friends of Sora's? It seemed logical to him. Why did it have to be so hard?

"I'm sorry, but I don't know any Sora," Leon replied, his arms folding over his chest in the same manner as Riku, attempting to look intimidating.

"Wait... but Sora-," Riku began, but Mickey shushed him.

"Leon, is Merlin here? Might we be able to come in and talk with him?" the King asked politely causing Riku to roll his eyes in irritation. He wasn't sure why he felt so annoyed right now, but all he wanted was for somewhere safe to keep Sora and now all of a sudden Leon claims to not know who he is? _What gives? _Riku thought to himself.

"Did someone ask for me?" came an elderly voice behind Leon, and Riku caught glimpse of a tall, blue, pointed hat and a long, distinct, white beard. "Ah! King Mickey! So good to see you again! Do come in and bring your friend along with you! Make yourselves at home! Go on now, Leon. Mickey is a good friend. You can trust him."

The older man hesitated for a moment before backing away from the door and out of sight. Mickey stepped foot into the house first followed by Riku. "Thank you, Merlin. This is my friend, Riku." Riku acknowledged all of the people in Merlin's house with a knod of his head. The man called Leon, stood back a ways with his back against the wall, arms folded and eyes closed. Across the room a computer system had been laid out and another man sat there, older than Leon, with short, blond hair, a toothpick hanging out of his mouth who seemed to be grumbling and cussing at the computer screen. On the other side of the room stood two young ladies that Riku recalled seeing in Traverse Town along with Sora, Donald and Goofy back when Maleficent was attempting to use the darkness to manipulate Riku, and he rubbed at both of his arms trying to quell the memory.

"_You see? It's just as I told you. While you toiled away trying to find your dear friend, he quite simply replaced you with some new companions. Evidently, now he values them for more than he does you. You're better off without that wretched boy. Now, think no more of him, and come with me. I'll help you find what you're searching for..."_

Riku shivered again, as Maleficent's voice filled his head and her wretched face plagued his vision. Why had he ever believed her? Sora would never replace him with new friends and he should have known that, but Riku could only imagine that it must have been the darkness in his heart, tormenting him, playing tricks on him, manipulating him into believing he was not wanted. He blinked hard twice, pulling himself from those horrible memories and looked over to where the girls sat. Merlin was in the midst of introducing everyone while Riku had spaced out.

"And this is Aerith and Yuffie," the old wizard continued as he placed a hand on the girl with the light brown hair, drawn back into a long plait that hung down her back, curly tendrils hanging at the sides of her face. She had emerald eyes that wore the expression of someone wise for her young age, but when she looked at Riku and smiled, he couldn't help but feel a sense of calmness wash over him. Next to him, was a girl more spunky and open than Aerith. She had short, black hair, dark eyes and referred to herself as the Great Ninja Yuffie. "Now, on to business. You ask about a young man named Sora you say?" Merlin questioned the king. "I'm sorry, lad, but none of us here know of a Sora. I'm sorry we can't be of more help."

"Sora... I'm not sure why, but that name has such a familiar ring. I just don't recall ever meeting a Sora," Aerith's soft voice spoke up, her eyebrows drawing inward in thought, small hand on her chin. "I'm sorry King Mickey and Riku. I wish we could be of more help."

Riku tugged at the King's coat, and crouched to meet Mickey's level. "This is because of Sora losing his memories isn't it? That's why the people he used to know don't remember him," Riku spoke softly so the others wouldn't hear him.

Mickey looked directly at Riku nodding firmly and then turned back toward Sora's friends, friends that didn't even remember the sleeping boy. "We apologize for inconveniencing you. We will take our leave. Thank you for your time. Riku?" Mickey held out a hand for the younger boy to take the lead.

"One person you might talk to is Yen Sid," Merlin piped up before the two could leave. "Even if we did know this Sora you speak of, the confines of Hallow Bastion are currently not safe. We are still having Heartless invasions consistently, which of course Leon, Yuffie and Cloud are all helping with that issue. Cid is working on programming a defense mechanism for the town, but it's still a long way off. I can use my magic to ward them off, but your friend wouldn't be guaranteed any safety here. I'm sorry. Yen Sid might know of a place where he can stay. Good luck, King Mickey, my friend."

"Thank you, Merlin. We will go and see him right away. We appreciate your time. Take care of yourself," Mickey thanked the old wizard gratefully, shaking his hand.

"Hold on a minute!" the older man from the computer had now turned in his chair and was looking at the two of them. "Y'all are gonna need a mode of transportation aren't ya? You can't go traveling on foot to see this Yen Sid feller. I got a Gummi Ship you can use. She's old, but she's still in good shape and she's quick. It's gonna git you there much quicker." His accent was long, thick and drawling which made Riku almost want to laugh. He actually found he liked the sound of Cid's voice. Something about it felt homely. He could understand how Sora could be drawn to these people. They weren't too bad at all.

"Alright then, thank you Cid!" Mickey obliged, and Riku was just as relieved as the King was. He truly wondered how far Yen Sid was from them and how long it might take to reach where he was located on foot. He could still create dark passages to travel through, but Riku was trying to stay as far away from using any means of darkness to do anything as much as he possibly could. He didn't fear his darkness. Not anymore. He walked the road to dawn now, even though the darkness inside of him would still try and find ways to seize him and control him, he did his best to fight it and not allow it. With King Mickey at his side, he had helped considerably. Mickey's light was always there to help, but Riku knew this wasn't something he couldn't rely on. This was something he had to do himself.

Cid lead Riku and Mickey out to where the Gummi Ship sat, while the others followed them outside. They were just about to climb in when Riku felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around and came face to face with those kind, emerald eyes that made him feel calm. It was almost the same feeling his mother used to give him when he was little.

"It was nice to meet you, Riku," Aerith stood up as she extended her hand politely to the surprised young man in front of her. "I hope you find a safe place for your friend."

Riku stammered as he held out a hand to shake hers back. "O-oh. Yeah. Same. I mean likewise. Thanks." He could feel a warmth coursing through him as he took Aerith's hand and her scent was overpowering. She was pure, unadulterated light. So much like Kairi, and Naminé, but at the same time, so much stronger. Who was this woman? She smiled kindly at him and they all said their goodbyes as Riku and Mickey boarded the ship. Mickey expertly sat in the pilot's seat, executing the proper controls while Riku himself sat next to him, watching in silent, curious wonder. He'd never ridden in a Gummi ship before.

"And now let's set a course to Yen Sid's tower," Mickey piped up and the Gummi ship lurched forward. Riku's stomach nearly jumped into his throat in surprise, causing him to grab at the arm rests on the seat.

"So, who is this Yen Sid?" he questioned the king, calming down from his intial reaction to the ship taking flight.

"Yen Sid is a very old, but very powerful sorcerer. I was his apprentice for years. He taught me almost everything I know. He's very wise and knows the ways of the worlds. He has insight into each and every world and can sense darkness and light alike. He probably even knows that Sora is sleeping to restore his memories," Mickey explained as Riku listened intently.

"So, he pretty much knows everything, right?" Riku asked, eyeing the King. "Meaning, that he may know where we can keep Sora safe while he sleeps and his memory is restored?"

"Right!" Mickey nodded. "I don't know why I didn't think of him before. I don't like bothering him too much unless absolutely necessary. He's a busy man, so he's usually my last resort when I can't handle things on my own."

Riku nodded, looking forward out of the Gummi ship's windsheild. He studied the swirling vortexes of color and passing Heartless ships and didn't say a word as the King fired off lasers, blasting them into submission. His mind wandered as he thought about where they could take Sora and if this sorcerer would know. All he wanted to do was get his friend out of Castle Oblivion and to somewhere safe, where he could sleep peacefully while Naminé worked to link together Sora's memories. He absentmindedly wondered how much time it would take to put them back together, and once his friend awoken, would he be able to face him after all that happened?

"Riku?" the King spoke up, breaking the young man from his silent reverie. "I know you told me you're just fine, but I still can't help but worry about you."

Riku's head jerked up and he turned to face the king "I'm fine. I honestly am. You don't have to worry so much about me," he plastered that well-known, confident smile on his face, but deep down, he didn't feel confident at all. He felt like a small, frail child frightened of what was lurking inside of the darkness, of his darkness and he knew. Riku already knew who was in his darkness, the shadow hiding around the walls of his heart and sneaking through the cracks whenever he possibly could. So, Riku built more walls, closing himself off, closing his heart off. These Nobodies he'd met at Castle Oblivion, Riku couldn't help but feel slightly envious toward them.

They didn't have hearts ergo they had no way of feeling emotion or pain the way he did. Sometimes his remorse threatened to overwhelm him, and sometimes he wished that for just a little while he could shut all of it off. Maybe it would help keep him more focused and thoughts not racing. Just the mere thought of facing Sora, though he wanted to see both him and Kairi so badly once more, made Riku's anxiety levels practically shoot through the roof.

What would he even say to Sora when his best friend woke up? I'm sorry? I'll never do it again? I'll make it up to you? He scoffed silently to himself at how ridiculous all of that sounded. Nothing he would even say could make up for the terrible things he did to his friends, his home, his family, the island. Maybe it would make things easier and darkness wouldn't be so tempting if he didn't have a heart. Riku was appreciative of the black cloat that DiZ had given him to wear, hiding his presence, his darkness and he could no longer have to smell that horrible scent of darkness that had seeped into his very own skin.

"Hmmm," Mickey eyed Riku warily, and the silver haired youth knew that the King could see right through him. "If you say so, but I just want you to know that if you need anything at all-,"

"I know, Mickey. I know, but like I said. It's just not the right time, okay?" Riku smiled again at his mouse friend. He waved a hand absentmindedly at his friend, and Riku knew it probably came across rude. This just wasn't something he was ready to deal with yet. He really did appreciate the kindness that the King held for someone like him, and Mickey's words floated back into his head.

_"We're connected you and I."_

Riku smiled again at those words."Let's just concentrate on Sora and getting him to safety, okay? We'll worry about me later. I'm not that important." He lay his ivory head back against the seat and closed his tired, aquamarine eyes. Riku couldn't deny that he did feel a slight warmth in his heart due to the King's friendship, but at the same time something inside him squeezed painfully. He just smiled instead, his own painful attemps at holding back his pain, but it was easy to see the sorrow in his expression. Instead, he opted on keeping his eyes closed, knowing that if he closed his eyes, Mickey wouldn't see the lie in them. He was tired. Not just physically, but mentally and emotionally drained and he took in a deep breath, releasing it slowly feeling more exhausted by the moment.

"You're wrong, Riku," Mickey's voice spoke up after a lengthened silence between them. "You're very important. You're important to Sora, to Kairi and myself." Mickey assured the boy, reaching a small hand out to place it over Riku's arm. "Don't be so down on yourself."

Riku opened his eyes and looked at the King, searching his expression. It was almost akin to what a father would have, and Riku's heart clenched tighter. "Yeah," was all he could say before inclining his head away from Mickey, unable to really look at his eyes any longer. It hurt too much. He didn't deserve the friendship Mickey had offered him, nor did he even really deserve Sora's friendship once he did awaken. He would see to it that Sora woke up, and once he knew Sora was safe, Riku would retreat. Maybe he should fade back into darkness? That would keep Sora away from him, and there would be no risk of Riku hurting his friend again.

Riku closed his burning eyes once more, no longer wanting to keep them open. He heard Mickey sigh in defeat, and felt the mouse remove the comfort of his hand. Something inside of Riku screamed, wanting Mickey to hold onto him again. He longed for the comfort of a friend, almost ached for the touch, but a boy like him, he had given in to the darkness. He'd hurt everyone near and dear to him. This wasn't something he deserved to have. Riku set these things in his mind, attemping to ease the pain in his heart, before he found himself being lulled by the low hum and vibrations of the ship, soothing him and he drifted off into the blackness of sleep, with a final hope that darkness would not plague his dreams.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: The Mysterious Tower

"Ughhh," Riku grumbled loudly. "How long are these flights of stairs? Is he seriously all the way at the top of this thing?" An hour earlier, they had finally arrived at the Mysterious Tower, home of Master Yen Sid and parked their Gummi ship behind the tower and out of sight. For at least an hour now, or maybe even longer as it seemed to Riku, they had been tromping up a lengthened flight of steps, leading to the very tops of the crooked tower.

"Stop complaining, Riku and keep moving," Mickey scolded the young man gently as he marched up the steep, winding staircase alongside him. "We'll be there soon enough." Riku sighed as he continued his way up the steps, his legs starting to feel achy and tired from the constant upward movement. "I used to climb these stairs everyday during my training," Mickey said thoughtfully. "I would have to do chores for Master Yen Sid during my apprenticeship, and would carry two heavy, wooden buckets full of water up to the tops of the tower everyday to mop the floors, wash the walls and keep the tower clean."

"I admire your dedication, Mickey, but I don't know how you even did that," Riku replied, his voice sounding tired. He had no idea that the king used to spend hours climbing these marble steps carrying large buckets of water during his training under Yen Sid, and there was no way in hell he would do something like that. Climbing up long flights of stairs was a lot different than traveling straight forward on foot.

Riku was aware of how just much he sounded like a whining, young kid, and he could've cared less. He was tired, hungry and grumpy. In a way that realization comforted him. It was normal woes of teen life, and not the consistent internal battle with darkness he faced nearly everyday. He was, after all, only 15 years old, nearing 16 as a matter of fact, and in truth, Riku was still a kid himself in many ways. His appearance was that of a teenager, sure, but his heart and his mind were much older than that now, and it was only due to the fact of everything he'd been through. Most kids his age didn't normally experience the traumas and trials that he had experienced and still continued to experience to this very day.

Turning his mind back to the ridiculously long flights of stairs, it felt as though he and the king had been walking them for ages. The muscles in his legs were starting to cramp up as they made the long ascension to the very top of the tower where he was sure Yen Sid most likely sat waiting for their arrival. Much to Riku's dismay, _too _much later, they finally found themselves in front of a giant, stone door. Two, colossal, crescent moon statues made of heavy stone sat on either side of the door.

"We're here." Mickey approached carefully and knocked on the door. The door slowly opened, all on it's own. No one was standing on the other side, but Mickey silently beckoned to a slightly surprised Riku who reluctantly followed. He wasn't sure if he could trust a door just opening all on it's own and wondered if something formidable could be behind it.

Riku found himself walking into a room that he did not imagine would've been on the other side of the stone door. He thoroughly expected a dark room, filled with an ominous aura, but was rather surprised to find a well-lit room familiar to that of a large study. There were bookshelves on the walls, a few books lined up neatly while others lay haphazardly. Other various shelves lined the walls with vials of what appeared to be potions and different colored liquids.

Large, clay pots sat underneath some of the shelves and the windows on the wall were in the shapes of stars. In the center of the room sat a large, wooden desk. A very tall chair with a velvety, green back sat behind it. The chair's height almost reaching the ceiling of the tower. To the left of the desk was a large set of oddly shaped double doors, decorated in fancy, intricate detailing. Across the ways from a desk was a chalkboard Riku assumed was used for teaching. After all, this Yen Sid guy was Mickey's teacher once. Who's to say he didn't have other apprentices? As for Yen Sid, however. There was no sign of him.

"I wonder where Master Yen Sid is?" Mickey wondered aloud, voicing Riku's own thoughts as they acknowledged that not a single person was in the room. "Well, we'll just wait here until he arrives."

Almost as soon as Mickey spoke, the resplendent doors opened. A very tall man, dressed in long, ocean blue, sweeping robes entered the room. A pointed hat adorned with moons and stars sat on top of his mane of long, thick, dark grey hair. He had a long beard, matching the color of his hair, that nearly hung to his waist, split in two sections near the bottom. His hand was placed gingerly upon his beard, rubbing it carefully as he walked toward the two. His eyes were large and very open, with only a black spot in the center of all the white for pupils. He had thick, grey eyebrows sitting narrowed downward above his eyes as if in thought. Unlike Riku's brilliant, aquamarine colored eyes, this man's held no color, and it first glance, Riku found that if he weren't Mickey's teacher, he would've thought him menacing and dangerous. Instead, he gave Riku the impression of someone to be highly respected merely by the way the man carried himself.

"Ah! Master Yen Sid!" Mickey blurted out, surprised at the sorcerer's appearance.

"King Mickey," the sorcerer's low, accented voice seemed to rumble across the room as he addressed the small king in front of him. "I see you have braved your way out of the Realm of Darkness."

Mickey nodded his head confirming his teacher's words. "Indeed I did. I have Riku here to thank for it."

"Hmmm," hummed the old sorcerer, studying Riku carefully, eyes drifting over the young man before staring right into Riku's own eyes, nearly rooting him to the spot. Riku wasn't sure if it was just his mere presence or the sorcerer was using magic to make him stand there and stare back, but he found he could not look away, or blink his eyes as much as he wanted to. The sensation the sorcerer gave him, made Riku shiver. It was almost as if he were trying to look inside of him. "Young Riku. Sora's best friend, I presume? It is nice to finally meet the one Sora has spoke so fondly of."

"Y-yes," the ivory haired boy stammered, caught off guard by the sorcerer addressing him. He lowered himself into a quick bow, in a gesture of respect to the King's teacher, that stood before him. Yen Sid gave the boy a small smile, continuing to stroke his beard. Riku was stunned at Master Yen Sid's words. Sora spoke... fondly of him? After all he had done, Sora still forgave him? Riku had to hold back a snort of derision at the thought. Typical Sora. Even when Riku didn't deserve to be forgiven, he knew his best friend would do it without a second thought, and while he didn't understand it, the sentiment behind it warmed his heart. Sora's heart was almost too pure.

"So tell me, King Mickey. How did you end up the Realm of Darkness?" Yen Sid began questioning the mouse as he moved to his chair to take a seat behind his long desk. He folded his hands on the wooden top looking down at the small mouse.

"Riku and I were both there. We stayed behind to help Sora, Donald and Goofy close the Door to Darkness. Sora fought Xehanort's Heartless, Ansem: Seeker of Darkness, bravely, and defeated him. The only way we could close the Door to Darkness was by my keyblade and Sora's keyblade. It needed to be locked on both sides, and so we closed and locked it from our side while Sora, Donald and Goofy closed and locked it from the other side. "

Riku couldn't help but be filled with grief at Mickey's words, even though the small King was kind enough to leave the fact that Riku had given in to darkness and Ansem had taken over his body out of the explanation, it still pained him greatly. He was glad that Yen Sid didn't ask how Riku had landed himself in there, but something told the silver haired teen that Yen Sid already knew. He lowered his head shamefully, turning away, not wanting to look Mickey's teacher in the eye. Though he could feel the great sorcerer's eyes on him now, and Riku knew that in some way, Yen Sid could see right through him. He could see the man through his peripheral vision studying him momentarily before turning back once more to the King.

"May I ask what brings you here then?" the sorcerer inquired, and Mickey nodded obligingly.

"It has to do with Castle Oblivion, which is where Riku and myself ended up after our escape from the dark realm. There is a new group that has been forming of Nobodies known as Organization XIII. They reside in this castle, and Sora traveled through it trying to find Riku. A Nobody messed with Sora's memories causing him to lose some most precious to him, and now he's asleep at Castle Oblivion while his memories are being restored," Mickey began explaining.

"I see," Yen Sid said quietly.

Riku cleared his throat and found the courage to look at Yen Sid full on. "His memories were tampered with by a memory witch. Her name is Naminé. She has power over Sora's memories and was able to remove certain links connecting Sora to a mutual friend of ours. In turn, she replaced herself with our friend which left Sora confused and with no memory of our friend or her name. Now he's asleep in Castle Oblivion along with Donald and Goofy, and the castle is not a safe place for them," Riku bravely explained, his voice much stronger than it had been prior to this discussion. He continued, not breaking stride. "Organization XIII wants to get their hands on Sora's ability to wield the keyblade, but we're currently unsure of what their motives are. Because of this, we want to move Sora and the others out of Castle Oblivion as soon as possible and somewhere safe. If the Organization were to find him, he'd definitely be in danger."

The King nodded his head fervently next to Riku. "We've been traveling the worlds, trying to find a safe place for Sora, but every single person we've ran into claims to not even know who Sora is," Mickey added on. "We stopped at Hallow Bastion before we came here, but his friends there that he had made didn't even know who he was, though one of the girls, Aerith, had said the name rang familiar to her. What exactly does this mean?"

Yen Sid cleared his throat as well, closing his eyes briefly before opening them again. "The inhabitants of Hallow Bastion no longer remember Sora because Sora lost his own memories of them. Naminé's interference with Sora's memory and his memory chain have become disconnected. Because of this, they do not know who Sora is anymore. They will not know who Sora is until Naminé has succeeded with her task and linked all of Sora's memories back together once more. You are lucky that he still remembered you, Riku."

"Aww, Sora could never forget Riku," Mickey said. "Riku is his best friend after all. Their hearts are strongly connected no matter what. Naminé didn't tamper with his memories of Riku, just his memories of Kairi and his journey to find her."

"Hence why Hallow Bastion's residents do not remember Sora," Yen Sid replied. "Until Naminé links those memories connected to them, they will continue to live oblivious to the fact that they ever met a young keyblade wielder by the name of Sora."

"So, what do we do then?" Riku questioned the old sorcerer. "We need a place to take Sora so he can sleep in peace and be safe. If we can't take him to Hallow Bastion or none of the other worlds, where else is there? Sora needs to be safe. We can't have the Organization getting their hands on him. Sora needs to be protected until he can wake up," Riku added with conviction.

Yen Sid turned his large, intimidating eyes on Riku, but his expression was a mixture of amusement and understanding. "Fear not. There is somewhere where Sora, Donald and Goofy can sleep in peace while their memories are restored. Take the train to a place called Twilight Town. Once you arrive, you will find a man waiting at an old mansion just outside of the town. His name is DiZ." Riku and the King exchanged shocked glances. Neither had a clue that Yen Sid knew who DiZ was. "Ah, so you know DiZ, I presume?"

"Yeah... we know DiZ," Riku responded, light contempt in his voice, his arms folding over his chest. Riku wasn't particularly fond of DiZ, especially after all of the trouble he seemed to cause, the tasks he placed on Riku's shoulders and the almost consistent riddles.

Yen Sid chuckled at the young man's words, seemingly reading the fact that DiZ was not his favorite person. "DiZ will help you make preparations to have Sora moved to the Old Mansion, so that he may sleep in peace. Naminé will also be brought to the mansion so she can work close to Sora and restore his memories safely without any interference from the Organization."

Riku thought of Naminé and they last time they had spoken. Naminé had made him a promise to take care of Sora for him while Riku left to go on his journey. He hoped silently that the pale, blonde Nobody was holding to her word, but also wondered if she was doing alright in such a horrible place. Naminé had gave him almost the same sensations and feelings of being around Kairi again, but at the same time it was different, and this time when she had been mentioned, Riku couldn't help but feel an urge to want to see the blonde girl with Kairi's face, and wondered why he felt that way. He was appreciative of Yen Sid's information, meaning that they were one step closer to bringing Sora to safety. Lost in his own thoughts, he hadn't heard the rest of the conversation between King Mickey and Yen Sid, but as he snapped to, he found himself suppressing a yawn. The sky outside had grown dark now, and stars shone brightly, twinkling cheerfully in the blackened empryean above them. Night had fallen.

"Tonight I will offer you rooms to sleep in. You need your rest to begin your journey and you can do so in the morning," Yen Sid stood from his seat and swept around his desk. "Follow me and I will show you were you can sleep."

Riku couldn't help but feel relieved and grateful, for he could feel the exhaustion slowly creeping up on him. Everything was catching up now, and he was ready to crash into a soft bed with warm blankets and a pillow. The two followed Yen Sid out of the tower study and down the hall where he stopped outside of a door and opened it up. "Riku, you may sleep here for the night. Mickey, you may take the room next to Riku's. I will see to it that you have some nourishment before you sleep." With a small wave and a smile at the king, Riku retreated into his room. Inside, there was a large bookshelf on the wall with more books, a much smaller desk and chair, than the one in Yen Sid's study, across from a bed. There was a large, star-shaped window near his bed, with a comfortable, night breeze coursing through it every so often. On the other side of the room was a dresser and a tall, standing mirror.

Riku slipped out of the confines of his black cloak, laying it over the back of the desk chair and kicked off the black boots that went along with it, placing them next to the chair and out of the way so he wouldn't trip on them. He walked toward the mirror and studied his reflection. His face appeared tired and worn, almost like a veteran of war in the history books he'd seen in school. A guy his age shouldn't look that way already. His eyes were dull and drained, and even he could see the shadow of the sadness he held in them, and he wondered just how apparent his suffering was.

His eyes scanned over the reflection of his body. The yellow, strapped tank top he wore was seemingly a little tight, and he couldn't help but chuckle at the length of his pants that were now practically high waters. He had grown somewhat in these past months without even realizing it. His chest was broadening, his arms were growing bigger, and his height had definitely went up a couple of inches. Even his uniquely colored, ivory hair was longer. It was just past his shoulders now and his bangs were falling into his blue green eyes. The cloak had been somewhat constraining so Riku never noticed how tight his shirt was, nor how uncomfortable his pants were starting to become until now. He wasn't sure why, but it amused him somewhat.

There was a brief knock at his door, pulling Riku away from the mirror. "It's open!" he called out, and inside stepped Master Yen Sid. Riku was startled once more by the man's overbearing presence, and wondered if he could ever get used to the sorcerer.

"Riku, I hope I am not bothering you. I know it is late, but there is something that has been weighing on my mind about you. I wish to discuss it," the older man stated, getting straight to the point.

"Oh?" Riku tilted his head, a thin, silver eyebrow raising in curiosity. "About me?"

"Mmhmm," hummed the sorcerer as he nodded his head. Riku took a seat on the bed and Yen Sid stood in front of the boy with his hands folded against his torso. "I sense a vast and deep darkness emanating from within you, but I also sense light. There is light somewhere deep within the confines of your heart, because if there were not, you would not have the cares you carry with you now. You would not feel the remorse that plagues you."

"Who says I feel any remorse?" Riku retorted, unable to hold his tongue. Who was this old man anyway to say these kinds of things to him? He didn't even know Riku let alone what was in his heart, and even though Riku knew that himself was outright lying, it didn't stop him from saying what was on his mind.

"Oh? So you do not feel the intensity of guilt I sense coming from you?" Yen Sid raised a hand in attempt to quiet Riku as made to open his mouth and speak again, but the boy fell silent, turning his face away from the sorcerer, unable to look at him. "Riku, I am very omniscient. It is not difficult for one such as I to sense your pain. You cannot hide your sorrow nor your guilt from me the way you can with others. No words, no cloaks, no fake smiles or false expressions can trick me into believing you are just fine."

"Tch. You're perceptive, aren't you?" Riku sneered quietly, still not looking at Yen Sid, but he closed his aquamarine eyes painfully. Every single word Yen Sid was speaking rang true, and he knew he'd have to hear it sooner or later. He would have rather it had been later though. He wasn't exactly comfortable with the idea that Yen Sid could read him so well, and it left him feeling somewhat shaken, but Yen Sid was not done.

"Indeed, but I want you to understand something, Riku. No manner of darkness that may reside within you, whether it be your own darkness or someone else's should keep you from your friends. Do you not understand that you alone are what matters to them? This includes everything within you, Riku. Your darkness, your light. They are a part of who you are and what makes you who you are. You are a special entity. There has never been another in all my studies to exist like you. You, Riku, exist between the darkness and the light. You can control both if you just believe in yourself the way your friends do."

"I don't know how to believe in myself anymore," Riku admitted, his voice sounding small. "The last time I tried believing in myself, the darkness took hold and well, I'm sure you can guess what happened." He wasn't so sure he felt ready to begin spilling his guts to a man he just met and so he caught himself before he could start telling him his life story. In truth, if he even tried to begin to discuss it, Riku wasn't sure he'd be able to hold up his feigned strong front he'd learned to gradually perfect. The last thing he wanted to do was to fall completely to pieces in front of King Mickey's teacher.

"Riku, if you hold onto the fact that you exist between the light and the dark, then darkness won't take over your heart and your mind. Only you can allow something such as that to happen. You can try and fight your darkness, but it will only bring you pain." Yen Sid examined the boy carefully in front of him. "Don't fight your darkness. Accept it as a part of you."

"You just don't get it," Riku voiced wryly, shaking his ivory head. "You don't know what's constantly in my mind, in my heart, every single day. It's not so easy to just accept my darkness as a part of me when it constantly-," his words broke off and he turned his head away from the sorcerer once more. He couldn't bring himself to tell the man that Ansem was still in his head, in his heart, his voice ringing out, his influence torturing him, tempting him, luring him, pushing him.

"I understand, and I understand that you are not ready to discuss it, but I just wanted to let you know that there is still hope if you choose to believe in it. Riku, your friends still love you and care for you more than you know. It's not hard to sense the love that both Sora and Kairi have for you, and because they love you, they will understand the manipulation and torment that you have greatly suffered. Your friends need you, just as much as you need them. They want to be there for you when the time comes. Do not push away or shut out the ones who care the most. Let them in." Yen Sid turned away from Riku, bid him farewell and left the room, closing the door quietly behind him.

Riku sat on his bed, and dropped his face into his hands. Yen Sid had read him like a damned open book. He knew almost exactly the pain, remorse and regret Riku felt on a daily basis, why he felt it, and the mention of shutting out his friends was almost exactly what the boy had planned on doing once Sora had awoken. He couldn't risk getting them hurt again because of his own stupidity, and if the darkness did seize control of him, then what could happen? Then again, perhaps Yen Sid was right. He knew he needed his friends, but did his friends honestly need him? It wasn't hard to acknowledge that Yen Sid was trying to give the young man encouragement, but even so, Riku still had his doubts. Would he truly ever be able to face his friends again? Riku lay his aching head down on the pillow on his bed and closed his eyes which were burning with exhaustion and disgress, Yen Sid's words still reverberating in his head.

_"Do not push away or shut out the ones who care the most. Let them in." _

How would he even be able to begin to do something like that? Instead of easing his pain, the words just made him feel more lost than ever. Riku stared out of the star shaped window and sighed as he laid back on his bed. "Sora, Kairi... I am so sorry..."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Phantasms and Shadows

The next morning, the sun shone bright through the star shaped window above Riku's bed. It's rays gently extended across his sleeping features. His silvery-violet hair lay spread out behind him, with strands and locks spilling into his face. Riku's eyes remained closed as he slowly awoke, his eyes twitching ever so slightly behind closed lids as the light teased his vision. _Morning already?_ Riku rolled over onto his back and yawned widely behind his hand, raising them both to his face to rub the sleep out of his blue green eyes. He blinked twice before peering over to the window.

A warm breeze rustled through his room and the sounds of birds serenading the world with a morning tune could be heard surrounding the tower. With a sigh and reluctance to get out of bed, because the pillow was so soft and the blankets cuddly and warm, Riku pushed back the covers and sat up in bed, stretching his defined arms into the air above him and wondered absentmindedly if he should eventually get some new clothes. The tightness of his yellow sleeveless was more apparent than ever once he stretched, and he didn't want to walk around being uncomfortable. Besides, he wouldn't be able to wear these forever. He yawned once more, making to get out of bed, but before he could even stand up, there was a knock on his door. 

"Come on in," Riku called, his voice still sounding drawn with sleep. The door flung open and in walked King Mickey holding a tray of food.

"Good morning, Riku! I brought you some breakfast. There's eggs, bacon, toast and orange juice here for you," Mickey quipped as he sat the tray of food on the desk table across from Riku's bed.

The smell of bacon filled his senses, and for once, this was a scent that Riku could tolerate. His stomach rumbled loudly, having not eaten anything since yesterday morning, and his mouth watered from the smell and sight of the food. "Hey, thanks Mickey," he thanked the King gratefully, making his way over to the desk and sitting down to eat.

"Make sure you eat every last bite. You need to keep up your strength. We have a long journey ahead of us, you know?" Mickey insisted, and Riku nodded at the King through a mouthful of bacon and eggs, savoring every single bit of flavor. Within moments, he cleared his tray and downed the orange juice, feeling much more refreshed, but wishing he had somewhere to take a long, hot shower. Perhaps when they arrived in Twilight Town, he'd be able to do just that at the mansion. As Riku stood to grab his shoes, so he could get ready for the day, Mickey chuckled. "I'm sorry, Riku, but I couldn't help but notice your clothes." 

"Huh?" Riku's head jerked up and he stood, looking down at himself and joined the King in his laughter. "Haha, yeah. I noticed last night. Pants are a bit short, and shirt is just a bit too tight," he added, tugging on the collar of his sleeveless top. 

"Well you definitely have grown a few inches or so," Mickey stopped laughing and smiled up at Riku. "We'll need to get you something a bit more fitting so you can move around more comfortably. I'll go let Yen Sid know. He should be able to help you out with that." 

"Oh, no. No it's not necessary. I'm sure I can find something on my own later," Riku began protesting, but Mickey had already walked out of the silver haired youth's room, leaving him there with a hand raised in attempt to stop the King. A very uncomfortable sensation rose in Riku as he flopped back down on the bed. What was Mickey going to do exactly? Ask to borrow some munny so Riku could purchase himself something new? _No, absolutely not. _He did not like the idea of being indebted to anyone financially. He rose from the bed and began making his way to the door to hopefully stop the King from asking, when the door opened once more and Mickey, followed by Yen Sid walked in. 

The old sorcerer chuckled, seemingly amused. "Ah, yes. I see what you mean, Mickey. A growing boy needs clothes that will fit him comfortably if he is to battle. Come, Riku. I can help you with that issue."

Grudgingly, Riku, alongside Mickey, followed Yen Sid out of his room, down the hall and back into the Master's study. Instead of stopping at his desk, he approached the double doors that were just to the left of his desk and opened them up. "Flora, Fauna, Merriweather? I was hoping you ladies could assist this young gentleman. His name is Riku. He is a friend of King Mickey's, and he is in need of some new, more _fitting_ garments." 

Out of nowhere, three, little old ladies that appeared to be like witches at first glance, swooped down in front of Yen Sid, causing Riku to jump back slightly in surprise. They were all dressed the same, with pointy hats, and poofy dresses, but one was wearing pink, another was wearing blue, while the tallest one of the group was wearing green. On their backs were delicate, fluttering wings. Riku then realized that they were fairies of the likes that which he had never before laid eyes on. The blue one approached him swiftly as Yen Sid turned on his heel and walked out of the door. "Do your best now, ladies." 

"Hello, Riku! I'm Merriweather," the little fairy in blue greeted the boy. 

"I'm Fauna," said the fairy in red. 

"And I'm Flora," the fairy in green tacked on.

The shorter, chubbier fairy dressed in blue, the younger of the three as her hair was of deep ebony, while the other two had greying hair, flew a small circle around Riku who attempted to follow her movements by inclining his head, but found she was just too fast. She swooped down behind him and then back in front of his face once more. "Oh no no no, this will never do!" the fiesty fairy in blue insisted, wiggling her chubby body back and forth stubbornly. 

"Look at these clothes! They're just too small for the boy," the tall fairy dressed in green was now behind a very bewildered Riku, pushing him into the center of the room, while the other two fairies flew in front of him and grabbed his hands, pulling him forward. Riku made noises of protest, but the fairies just ignored him, chattering loudly as they dragged him to the middle where they all three flew in a circle surrounding him. 

"Is this really necessary?" Riku questioned as he stumbled into the spot where the fairies had settled him, but the three good ladies ignored him and he just held his hands up, shrugging in the process, unsure of what they had planned for him. 

They each held in their hands a long, thin wooden wand, shimmering and sparkling with magic as they flew in a slow circle around Riku, sizing him up. "Yes, yes. I think this will be a good idea. Yes, mmhmm... Alright then, dears! Let's get to work!" the older fairy dressed in pink, whom seemed to be the leader of the three, flew upward above Riku and pointed her wand down toward him. 

"A dash of this and that and...!" the fairy in green pointed her wand toward Riku and shot a stream of magic at him. It smacked him the chest, and he excepted to feel something painful, but oddly enough it felt warm and almost ticklish. He was too stupified to really notice the sensation as he stared down at his clothes which were now all green. They hadn't changed in size or style at all. 

"Oh no, absolutely not! Blue!" the fairy in blue was next to point her wand at Riku, and shot another jet of magic at him changing his clothes to blue. Some arguing began ensuing between the three good fairies, with each taking turns shooting magic at Riku, and they were getting nowhere. Finally, the fairy in pink was the next to send her magic aiming toward Riku, which yet again, slammed him in the chest, and much to Riku's horror, all of his clothes were now various shades of pink. If Sora caught him looking like this, he'd never live it down. 

"Okay, okay! Seriously, that's enough!" Riku shouted, his aquamarine eyes widened, clearly mortified at the idea of being caught in such a girly color. "Change it back right now! There's no way in... no _way _I'm going to be caught dead in something like this!" He wanted to at least leave the tower with _some _ of his dignity in tact. The three fairies all stepped back with a small gasp at Riku's outburst, but then laughed amongst one another, clearly embarrassed, and recovering from the raise in Riku's voice. 

"Alright then, dears. No more quibbling," Fauna scolded them gently. "Together now." The three good fairies raised their wands, waving them in a decorative fashion and then all three of them pointed the tips toward Riku and he was hit with a vibrant flash of magic and light.

He squeezed his eyes closed from the vividness of the light and when the brightness had dispersed, he looked down to see himself wearing a whole new style of clothing than that of his old island attire. A pair of fitted, baggy blue jeans sat loosely on his hips, held up by a black, leather studded belt. There was a black, zip-up sleeveless shirt with a tall collar. It zipped from both the top and the bottom, along with a white, vest that was left unzipped. It was decked out in yellow on the collar with yellow and blue striping near the bottom. On his feet where a pair of white and gray tennis shoes with orange shoelaces, and he realized his feet didn't feel squished anymore. 

"Come over here now, Riku dearie, and take a look in the mirror! Tell us what you think!" Merriweather ushered the boy, placing her hand on his arm and turning him toward a full-lenth mirror that hung on the wall. 

Riku studied his reflection in the mirror, and despite the horror of wearing all pink a moment ago, not a single touch of that color was on his new clothes, and he had to hand it to the fairies, they didn't do too bad. He toyed with the zipper on his collar, zipping it down far enough so that it wasn't choking him, while the zipper at the bottom of the shirt was moved up a ways, his navel clearly visible. It didn't look too bad, considering he had a defined, toned torso, and so he left it the way it was.

These clothes were definitely much more comfortable, loose and not quite so restraining as his others had been. He turned toward the fairies and offered them a small smile. "These are really good. Thanks," he expressed his appreciation to the ladies. "I've got to be going now. Thanks again for the clothes," Riku waved to the girls as he left the room, grateful and yet somewhat relieved to be out of their magical clutches. That was quite the ordeal he'd just experienced, and he hoped he'd never have to go through it again. 

"Your Majesty, I'm ready to go whenever you are. I just need to stop by my room and grab my coat first," Riku said has re-entered Master Yen Sid's study. Mickey turned toward Riku, nodding his head. 

"Gosh! The good fairies sure did a great job on those new clothes of yours, Riku! You look great and much more comfortable!" Mickey enthused as Riku gave a half smile and waved off the mouse's compliments. Too bad he'd have to cover them up with that confining Organization coat again. 

He approached his room, giving it another once over, before grabbing his black coat off of the back of the chair where it had lay previously. He slipped the coat on, tugging it over his shoulders and stretching his arms and zipping it up. It's magic instantly covered up Riku's new garments, making them appear black, as well as his new tennis shoes now appeared in the form of black boots. It was both astounding and constricting, but since it hid his presence, it was important he wear it. 

Minutes later, Riku, King Mickey and Yen Sid all stood at the base of the tower where a tall, purple train outlined in gold moons and stars, similar to that of Yen Sid's tower, sat on a floating set of glowing tracks. It was only one car, but very long, and there seemed to be no conductor. The front of the train was almost reminiscent to that of Yen Sid's own wizard hat.

"King Mickey, my friend. I wish you the best of luck during your travels to Twilight Town and your journey to help Sora," Yen Sid began as he bid the King goodbye. The two shook hands, exchanging farewells, before Mickey turned to make his way into the train. Riku began following Mickey to climb up into the train, when he felt a large hand rest on his shoulder. Riku gasped, turning his head to look over his shoulder and met Yen Sid's wide-eyed, unnerving expression. "Riku, ahead is a journey fraught with perils of the likes that which you have never experienced. Be well prepared and be on your guard, and do not forget... what I told you."

Riku turned around to face Yen Sid, lowering himself into a respective bow. "I won't. Thank you, Master Yen Sid," the young man told him, despite his doubts he still continued to harbor. Riku boarded the train as he and Mickey waved their goodbyes to powerful sorcerer. The door to the train closed, the whistle blew, and the strange locomotive, powered by no conductor, but magic instead, was off. Riku leaned against the wall of the train, his arms folded over his chest, peering out one of the star shaped windows, watching as the world flew by in a haze of color, mist, dark skies and stars. He wondered exactly how dangerous this journey for them was going to be, as those final words of Yen Sid's echoed within the confines of Riku's mind. 

"Your Majesty?" Riku began, deciding to voice his thoughts. 

Mickey's head popped up. "What is it, Riku?" 

He walked over to the blue, velvet bench where Mickey sat comfortably as the rumble of the train on floating tracks hummed underneath them and took a seat next to the King. "Master Yen Sid told me that this journey was going to be a dangerous one. He said that it'll be something I have never experienced before. What exactly did he mean by that?" Riku asked him nervously, afraid that he already knew the answer to the question. 

"Well, we're going to be dealing with the Organization, I'm sure, but in terms of danger, I'm not exactly sure how much. I mean, we've battled some of the Organization before back at Castle Oblivion successfully," Mickey replied thoughtfully. 

Riku sighed and rested his elbows on his knees, leaning forward. Maybe it was better late than never to tell the King what Yen Sid had said to him last night. His words had been bothering him since he'd went to bed that night. "Yen Sid came to my room last night to talk to me about some things," he began. Might as well tell him instead of keeping it from him. Knowing Mickey, he'd eventually figure it out anyway. 

The King's attention was fully on Riku now. "What sort of things?" 

Riku rubbed a hand nervously through his locks of silvery hair. "Like, he said he could sense the darkness within me, and how strong it is, but that he could also sense light. He told me that if I didn't have light in me, then I wouldn't feel the way I do now." He chose to leave out the words Yen Sid had spoken when it came to his friends, about how Riku shouldn't shut them out. That wasn't something he was exactly ready to discuss yet, because he was still having doubts and unsure of what to do when it came to his friends. 

"Well, how do you feel Riku?" Mickey questioned, and Riku squeezed his eyes shut. 

"It doesn't really matter how I feel. What matters is, that Yen Sid could see right through me. He said that I should believe in myself, and learn to accept my darkness, but the last time I accepted my darkness, well you know what happened." Riku dropped his head into his hands, rubbing them hard across his face as though trying to iron it out. 

"Riku," Mickey began placing a comforting hand on the teen's shoulder. "I don't think the context in which Master Yen Sid spoke was for you to accept darkness the way you did back at the island, but that you should learn to accept that your darkness is a part of you. Once you do that, then you'll be able to take on anything." 

"I told Yen Sid that it's not so easy to just accept my darkness as a part of me, Mickey. It's constantly weighing me down. I'm so drained by it. At least once every day in some form, it's back and it's tormenting me. It's hard to deal with and difficult to accept. I _do not _want to give in to the darkness again," he added persistently, staring hard at the floor. 

Mickey sighed sadly as he let go of Riku's arm. "I'm sorry, Riku. I wish there were some way I could help you." 

"It's alright, your Majesty. Just you being here is help enough," he lifted his head to give the King a smile, to which Mickey returned. The two fell silent as the train continued it's journey on the floating tracks, and before long, Riku found himself drifting off to sleep, leaning against the wall, the humming of the train lulling him to sleep once more. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Riku's head jerked upward as the sound of laughter filled his ears. Had he been sleeping this whole time? The sounds of ocean waves, singing seagulls mixed in with laughter, and the scent of the salty sea permeated his senses. The sun had risen high in the sky, and it's rays were shining down over the ocean's waves, giving the low current a shimmering look. He was seated comfortably on the paopu tree, one of his favorite places to sit on the island. He enjoyed the smell of the ocean as the breeze flew off of it, the feel of the sand underneath his feet, and the sound of the wind rustling the leaves in the palm trees comforted him and he drew his knee upward, rubbing at his sleepy eyes. 

"Riku!" came a familiar voice rushing near him. 

"Hmm? Sora!?" he turned to peer over his shoulder to see a boy clad in red and black, with brown, unkempt spiky hair and yellow clown shoes running in his direction. Closely behind him was a red haired girl laughing loudly, dressed in purple and white. "Kairi too!? How did I get back here?" the blue-green eyed boy wondered aloud. 

"Hey, Riku! You're always calling me the lazy bum yet you're just sitting here with your butt planted to a tree! C'mon! Let's race! I'll meet you down at the beach if you can catch me!" Sora yelled, before he turned sharp on his heel and zoomed off, leaving Riku standing there thoroughly shocked.

He was almost positive his island had been swallowed by darkness, but maybe that had all been just a dream? Unsure of what was transpiring, Riku shook his locks of silvery violet and took a leap off the side of the tree, landing on his feet in the sand, cat-like before racing to catch up with Sora, a large smile on his face. He hadn't felt this good in so long! He actually felt happy. Genuinely happy. The feel of the ocean's spray caressed his skin as he caught up with his friend. 

"Wow, and I even gave you a head start!" Riku laughed as Sora protested with an indignant "Hey!" Riku's laughter mingled along with Kairi's and soon Sora's, before the three of them were all running in a line together laughing alongside each other. The laughter was abruptly cut off by a shrill scream. Riku whirled around in horror to see a massive vortex of swirling darkness appearing above Kairi's head. It was lifiting her off of her feet now, and expanding slowly across the ever darkening sky. 

"SORA! RIKU! HELP ME!" Kairi cried out as Sora made a daring leap, grabbing onto Kairi's hand. 

"KAIRI! DON'T LET GO!" Riku heard Sora's panicked tones, but the girl was being lifted by her feet now and slowly being dragged into the vortex of darkness. 

"NO! KAIRI! SORA!" Riku yelled as he raced towards his friends, and now Sora was being lifted off of the ground, his grip still tight on Kairi's hand. "HOLD ON! I'LL GET YOU DOWN!" Riku lept in to the air in much the same manner Sora had and grabbed ahold of his friend's wrist with both of his hands, his feet planted firmly on the ground. Riku found it strange that he was not being pulled into the fearful vortex above them along with his friends, but gravity seemed to have a firm grasp on his feet. "PLEASE DON'T!" He could feel his grip loosening on Sora's wrist as the power of the vortex pulled his friends away from harder than ever. 

Riku lost grip with one of his hands on Sora's wrist, but his other hand still had a firm hold. Sora's fingers were gripped around Riku's wrist as well, while he tried to focus on holding onto Kairi, and Riku felt his heart nearly leap out of his throat as Sora lost grip on Kairi and she disappeared, screaming into the swirls of darkness above them. "Don't you dare let go!" Riku warned Sora, the backs of his eyes beginning to tingle and burn with oncoming tears. He'd already lost Kairi, and if he could help from it, he was not going to lose Sora too. "Sora, hold on!" 

Sora gave Riku what appeared to be a sad, almost apologetic expression as his wrist began sliding more out of Riku's grasp. Their fingertips grabbed hold of one another firmly. "I'm sorry, Riku. I'll find Kairi. We'll see each other again. I promise," Sora assured his friend and gave Riku his signature, goofy grin. 

Riku just shook his head in denial. "No..." 

Their fingers lost grip, and Sora went tumbling upward, head over heels, disappearing into the vortex. Riku stood alone on the island, no longer able to see his friends as the darkness above swallowed them. He threw his head back, hands clenched into fists hard at his sides, screaming an anguish. "NOOOOOOOOOO!" 

Riku tried to leap into the vortex after his friends, but to no avail. The vortex rose itself above the ground even higher, and he watched in horror as pieces of the island began breaking and being lifted into the vortex in the same manner that Sora and Kairi had been. Riku then remembered the door inside of the secret place, the cave he and his friends had played in as children, and took off running away from the flashing, menacing vortex of darkness. If the darkness in the sky wouldn't take him to his friends, then perhaps the door would if he could find a way to open it.

_"What's wrong, Riku? I thought this is what you wanted?" _a deep, echoing voice resounded in the silver haired youth's head.

"NO! LEAVE ME ALONE!" Riku shouted at the voice, doing his best to ignore it. He ran, dodging pieces of the island, chunks of land, trees and wood flew past him violently, branches and leaves slamming into him every so often as he raced toward the cave, but Riku paid it no mind.

_"Riku... You accepted darkness as a part of you. You allowed the darkness in your heart. You are the one who put your friends' lives in danger. You brought the darkness to the island. You are the only one who was able to do so, and now that you have, why do you shun the darkness?" _Riku quickly recognized the horrible voice as Ansem's, the man who had possessed him and stolen his body to accomplish his own dark deeds. 

"No! I never... I never wanted ANY of this! I'm not some kind of demon! I never wanted my home destroyed or my friends taken away from me!" He finally found himself inside of the Secret Place. Here where he, Sora and Kairi had played to their young hearts' content. They spent many hours drawing on the walls, playing games and exploring the cave. He ran to the mysterious door, and began pounding on it, kicking it and slamming into it, while Ansem's voice laughed cruelly in his mind. 

_"You're wasting your time. You will never make it through the door. You will never see your friends again. Their lives are forfeit." _

"W-what? Forfeit? No, they can't... Sora! Kairi! I know you're there, you've gotta be there! Please, please open the door!" Riku's fists pounded on the door, his cries pleading. 

_"It is useless, Riku. Your voice will not reach them. Your efforts are in vain. They are gone, and you will never see them again. Now, come with me and join me in the realm of darkness. You will no longer be alone." _

The realization that his friends were truly gone and not coming back, slammed into Riku like a massive, invisible anvil and sent him to his knees. His head dropped in between his arms, long locks of silvery violet falling against the sides of his face, his fists clenching on the ground. "No, this can't be happening. This can't be real. Sora, Kairi... I'm so sorry." Riku's breath hitched, and for the first time in years since he was a small child, he allowed the tears to come, and come they did. One fell, right after the other, soaking his face, distorting his vision.

"What a pitiful sight. Why allow yourself to suffer and be sad?" a voice resounded from behind Riku, and the teen lept to his feet, whirling around, coming face to face with the one being Riku most hated beyond all comparison. Ansem stood in front of Riku, his expression condescending and mocking, arms folded across his chest as if he were proud of himself. Riku clenched his teeth, attempting to steady his breathing and ease the streams of tears coursing down his face. 

"You. It was you all along. YOU are the one who did this to me! YOU TOOK MY FRIENDS AWAY FROM ME! YOU KILLED THEM!" with a turbulent roar, Riku reared one hand back, a brilliant ball in mixture of dark light and razoring sparks appeared in his hand and he launched the ball of dark energy in Ansem's direction, his screams reverberating on the cave walls around him. 

Riku woke up violently, the sounds of his own screams filling his ears, intermingled with Mickey's fearful cries.

"Riku! RIKU! You have to stop! It was just a dream!" The mouse's voice sounded closer than ever now, and with a start, Riku realized he had been dreaming. He looked at his hand which was sparking with power and he lept up from the seat, backing away from Mickey, his aquamarine eyes wide with fear and heartbreak. It took him a moment to realize that he had come to and was back in the real world, and that the train had stopped. His eyes were wet, vision still somewhat blurred, and his face damp. Riku realized that he had been crying in his sleep, and a wave of humiliation washed over him.

"I'm sorry. I am so sorry. Don't know what came over me," was all Riku could say, as he turned his back toward the king, dipping his head, attempting to discreetly wipe his face off to regain composure, embarrassed that his friend could see him in such a state. The dream, no, the nightmare had been so real, and the remnants of it seemed to linger as he wiped the remaining tears from his eyes. "Wow. Not like me at all."

"There's no need to apologize, Riku," Mickey began soothingly as he approached his friend. "Are you sure you're alright?" Riku could feel the King's eyes practically x-raying him, and so he took a deep breath, raised his head and turned toward the small King to look at him. He gave Mickey a shaky smile.

"I'm fine, it was just a nightmare is all. Whew. Just gotta pull it together. Can't remember the last time I had one of those," Riku feigned a laugh, rubbing the back of his head. He couldn't help but be embarrassed. He wasn't one to show emotion around anyone, let alone the King himself. Mickey raised one eyebrow warily at Riku, but Riku just continued to smile and looked toward the train door. Riku could see that Mickey knew he was lying, but chose to ignore it. He wasn't fine at all, but there was no time to concern themselves with that. It was time to get it together and focus on getting Sora, Donald and Goofy brought to safety.

"So, are we here then?" Riku inquired, peering out of the window, attempting to change the subject. They were pulled up and stopped outside of what appeared to be a train station.

"Yes, we're here," Mickey replied as the train door opened up, and the two friends exited the train.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Twilight Town

Riku followed King Mickey, in silence, out of the train unsure of what to say or do, or how to proceed after his unconscious outburst. The only sound that could be heard as they walked down a set of purple, stone stairs were the sounds of his and Mickey's boots tapping the pavement with each step, and the gentle tinkling coming from the chains on their Organization coats. Riku couldn't help but still feel slightly embarrassed at what had transpired on the train, but at the same time, he didn't want Mickey worrying for him, even though he knew regardless of how many times he told the King he was okay, Mickey would still worry. He was going to be just fine. He had to be, and even if it took him trying to kid himself into believing it, then he would do just that.

It was only a nightmare after all, though one of the worst ones Riku had had in a long time, and truly one of his strongest fears manifesting itself in the form of that dream in the depths of his own subconscious. Losing his friends. Not just to darkness, but losing them in general. He'd spent over a year now without being by their sides, and the thought was enough to make Riku's heart clench tight in his chest and ache because of how badly he missed them. No matter what though, Riku couldn't let himself be weakened or brought down by one dream or his own fear. They were getting closer and closer to bringing Sora, and the others, to safety, and that's all the boy wanted to concern himself with. He should be feeling happy that soon his best friend would be able to sleep in peaceful safety while the process of his memories were being restored. There would be time later for him to sit down and figure out how to handle his own, personal battles, and sort out his thoughts, but until then, he needed to remain focused on his task.

As he followed the King, Riku found himself standing in an unfamiliar train station. He gazed upward at a large, hanging sign reading the words "Central Station." Inclining his head, he looked around at the location as they walked through a massive set of glass doors and out into what appeared to be a large terrace surrounding the station. Riku glanced upward at the sky, wondering if it were nearing night or the sun was just rising. "What time is it?" the teen questioned as he followed the King down the stony paths that would lead them into the heart of town.

"Hmm, that's a good question," Mickey replied, looking upward at Riku. "Without a clock, you never can tell what time it is in this town. The sky is always this color. It never changes. Hence the name Twilight Town."

"Wow, that's new," Riku mused, finger stroking his chin thoughtfully. "So pretty much, the sky stays this color always? I wonder why that is?"

"This town is special," Mickey replied. "It is located between the light and darkness. This world's sun is always in the same position in the sky. It never rises, and it never sets."

"How in the world do people know when to go to bed and when to wake up?" Riku asked incredulously, aquamarine eyes widened, amusement in his voice.

The King just laughed. "That's a good question. I imagine they just go about their day, and when they're tired, they go home and sleep. C'mon. We're almost to Market Street. There's a clock tower there and we can catch the time. Maybe we can ask some of the locals in town how to get to the Old Mansion."

Riku nodded his head and followed King Mickey into town. As they approached Market Street, the clock tower came into view, and they looked upward at the clock. It was 11am, so still rather early in their day, but it was alright. Riku was enjoying the nice stroll through such a calm, quiet little town. It was much different than both Destiny Islands and Hallow Bastion. It wasn't clouded by darkness like Hallow Bastion, but it wasn't vividly bright like Destiny Islands either. It was comfortable, almost soothing, though not quite as soothing as the breeze off of the ocean's current or the smell of the salt in the air, and once again, Riku found himself longing for home. _You wanted so badly to get off that island and now you're homesick._ Riku silently chastised himself.

"Riku," King Mickey began, his voice with an edge of concern, snapping the silver haired youth from his thoughts. Riku felt a twinge of dread on the back of his neck. He knew what Mickey was going to ask him, and Riku wasn't sure he wanted to talk about what happened on the train. Not just yet anyway. Nevertheless, this was the King. "I'm worried about what happened with you on the train. The way your hand was sparking with dark energy, the way your eyes looked...," Mickey trailed off.

"What do you mean the way my eyes looked?" Riku questioned, raising one of his silvery eyebrows at the King.

"No, nothing! I mean you just looked devastated and frightened. You were crying too, and that isn't like you at all, so it just worried me," Mickey tried to quickly recover.

"I wasn't... ugh," the silver haired teen stammered, feeling a blush creeping up on his cheeks and frustration licked at his shoulders. So Mickey _had_ seen him. "I _wasn't_ crying, okay? It was just the dream. It just got me worked up. It's fine, and it's over with now, and I'm fine now. If it's all the same to you and with all due respect, I'd really rather not talk about it," Riku sighed. "I mean no disrespect, Your Majesty. I'm just not ready, okay?"

"I understand, Riku. It's just, if you had let go of your dark power right there, who knows what would have happened," Mickey replied, his voice laced with worry. "Are you sure you can control what's inside of you?"

More than anything, Riku wanted to grab the hood to his coat and pull it up over his head so nobody would see him. Had he really looked that bad? Did he still look bad? And what exactly did Mickey mean by the way his eyes looked? "I really don't know, but I'm damn sure going to try," Riku murmured, not only to the King but to himself as well.

The twosome fell silent once more as they entered the Tram Common, where there were more people scattered about, shopping at the shops with brightly lit signs hanging over their stands. A trolly was noisely rolling by on a set of train tracks, while some kids went zooming by on skateboards laughing loudly. There was a large cart stacked high with large bags of it's own cargo, and a few men were helping push it up a hill to move it into what appeared to be a storage shed. Riku couldn't help but find the hustle and bustle of the town pleasant company to be in. The town looked almost familiar. Remove all the people, then... Riku gasped. "Wait! I've been here before! I didn't know it was called Twilight Town, but I met DiZ here. He was disguised as Ansem. It was the card you gave me back at Castle Oblivion, Mickey! Remember? When you found me? You said the card led you to me."

The King turned around to face Riku, looking surprised. "It was? Really? So the card that led me out of the realm of darkness and straight to your heart was a card with this town on it? And that led you to meet DiZ?" Mickey questioned, peering upward at Riku, his eyes widened in surprise.

"Yeah, DiZ. He always seems to be testing me in some form or another, making me choose..."

_"Sorry I couldn't come here sooner, Riku," King Mickey, ever the enthusiast, apologized, smiling up at his friend. _

_Riku's eyes widened in disbelief and he leaned forward ever so slightly, attempting to see if he could look straight through Mickey, wanting to see if he were intangible like before. "Your Majesty! Is it you!?"_

_"Uh huh!" Mickey confirmed, nodding his mouse-eared head. Riku stepped forward, placing both of his hands against the sides of the King's face, wanting to see for himself that he was real and not just an illusion like he had been in their prior meetings. "Whoa!" Mickey laughed. "That tickles!" _

_Riku let go of Mickey's face and let out a chuckle at the King. "This time, you're not an illusion. I'm so glad that you could make it here," he smiled, his eyes shining brightly with happiness. One of his friends had found a way back to him, and that alone gave Riku hope._

_"I made a promise to you that I would find a way, didn't I?" Mickey encouraged him, but let out a small gasp as the relief settled so heavily over Riku that it sent him collapsing to the floor of the castle. _

_"Ahh... I'm okay. Don't worry," Riku sighed, still smiling, though his face held a sort of sadness to it. "Guess I'm just relieved." He lowered his head, unable to look at the King as the wave of happiness sent emotions through him he hadn't felt in a very long time. "I've... I've been alone so long that having someone else around is... is a little... overwhelming." He raised his finger to his nose, rubbing his knuckle gently across the bottom, almost as if embarrassed to admit that he was as lonely as he had been. Nobody had been accompanying him up until now, and to have King Mickey there, Riku was more than grateful and truly happy that he would no longer feel so lonely. He quickly recovered from his moment, raising his head once more to face the small King. "But... uh, how did you make it here? I thought it was too far?" _

_"I found a card to help," Mickey began explaining. He reached around to his back pocket and tugged out one of the familiar, blue cards with a picture on the front that Riku had encountered now several times on this particular journey. "I needed a way out of the Realm of Darkness, and then suddenly this card appeared right in front of me! When I picked it up, I could see your heart beyond the darkness. That's what let me find you. I guess the card felt it's place was to be with you." _

_The King held the card out for Riku to take, and he accepted it, studying it momentarily. "Maybe you're right," Riku said thoughtfully. He took the card and rose to his feet. Stepping forward, he found himself transported into a town lined with brick walls and stone streets. There was not a single person around, but tall buildings stood along a train track absent it's daily trolly. _

_A Help Wanted board tacked up with sheets of paper advertising various jobs stood a ways from him, and over to his left was an ice cream shop with a brightly lit sign showing a picture of an ice cream cone. There were storage units with numbers lit above them in the same manner as the ice cream shop, but strangely, there was no one around. The town was like ghost town almost. "Where am I? What is this place?" Riku asked himself, before remembering King Mickey had been with him. He gasped, whirling around. "Your Majesty!?" But there was no sign of the king._

_In front of Riku a wave of cold, dark wind materialized and before him a dark portal appeared, causing him to leap back in a defensive stance. A familiar entity stepped out of the portal, one that made Riku's skin crawl and stomach turn just from the mere sight of him. "You must battle me all alone." The man said. "Against my dark powers!"_

_Riku summoned Soul Eater and held it high above his head, preparing his attack mode. Whenever Ansem was standing in front of him, it made his blood boil enough to be ready for a fight. He was about to beckon Ansem into the fight when he hesitated. "Huh." Riku hummed doubtfully, lowering his weapon._

_"What's this? Are you giving up? Finally ready to surrender to your fate?" Ansem: Seeker of Darkness sneered at the boy in front of him. _

_"You're not the true Ansem," Riku replied, matter-of-factly. Ansem lowered his arms. "Your scent is different. The Ansem in my heart smells much darker. The odor is more foul. But your scent just isn't that. It's not darkness. It's something else. I finally understand. You're the one who guided me when it started. You came to me pretending to be Ansem. You gave me the card, to make me face the darkness."_

_The man before him lowered his head, closing his eyes and smiling. "Hmm, that is correct." His form miraculously began changing before Riku's eyes, and soon another man stood in his place. He had his entire head wrapped in red bandages with two leather belts placed to keep the bandages in place, except for one amber eye peering out of an opening and a place for his mouth. He wore a long, red cloak, and his look appeared almost digital to Riku. "DiZ, or so I am known. You, I've watched you all along." His voice held somewhat of a parental tone to it, and it made Riku uncomfortable to know this man had been following him and watching him. _

_"Really. Who are you? And what do you want from me?" Riku questioned him, warily. _

_"For you to choose," DiZ replied, coming straight to the point. _

_"Choose?" Riku asked. _

_"You are a special entity. You exist between light and dark. You stand in the twilight. You are to meet Naminé, then choose," Diz told him, his arms placed comfortably behind his back. _

_"Naminé? Who's that?" Riku was growing slightly tired of being evaluated by this man._

_"You will know soon," was all DiZ had to say before he disappeared in a ball of light, leaving a very confused, blue green-eyed youth in his wake._

"So that's where you ended up," Mickey stated. "And that's how you met DiZ."

"Yeah," Riku nodded his head, still unsure of his feelings toward the man. His presence had been an awkward one for Riku. He was almost fatherly, comforting in a sense, but at the same time, highly irritating with the way he seemed to want to consistently test Riku, to see if he would give into the darkness or not. They fell silent once more as they approached the center of the Tram Common part of town.

"Maybe we should try asking some people were the mansion is? If it's the same place, I have a feeling I've been there, but I'm not sure if I remember how to get there," Riku suggested, breaking the silence. His eyes fell over to a group of three children who seemed to be about his, Kairi and Sora's ages. "Hey!" Riku called approaching the three who seemed to be hovered around a shop window. It was the ice cream shop Riku remembered seeing in the Twilight Town memory he visited within Castle Oblivion.

The oldest of the three, who looked to be about 16, was tall with spiked, blonde hair. He wore a black tank top with a skull pattern on the front, a gray vest was pulled over the top of it left unbuttoned with a pair of camoflauge shorts and slip-on sneakers. He was holding what appeared to be three bars of blue ice cream and was handing one to each of the kids standing next to him. One of the kids was a girl who Riku guessed to be about 15 years old. She had shoulder-length, dark brown hair and dark blue eyes. She was wearing an orange tank top adorned with a flower pattern down the right side, a pair of khaki capri paints and white, lace-up shoes.

The other kid next to them was a bit more on the chunky side. He wore a long, red jersey with a white -shirt underneath, jeans and blue and white sneakers. Around his neck was a blue bandanna, and he wore a black and white striped sweat band that sat snug and comfortable underneath his mass of unkempt, black hair, keeping the hair pulled back from his eyes. The three kids turned to face Riku and King Mickey as they approached.

Riku felt his heart leap in his chest at the sight. It made him think of the days when he, Sora and Kairi used to spend their afternoons hanging out at the main island getting snow cones together on particularly hot days, teasing about who would be the one to buy the snow cones. Sometimes they ran races, or held swimming contests and battled with wooden swords, and the loser would buy the snow cones. Something in Riku's heart shifted.

"You must be new around here," the blonde boy spoke up, tearing Riku from his sentiments. "We've never seen _you_ before. Sorry, but this town doesn't take kindly to strangers. Go bug someone else." Slight disdain could be heard in the blonde's tone.

Riku was slightly taken aback at the boy's abrupt rudeness, but quickly brushed it off as the girl next to time made a noise in protest. "Hayner, don't be so rude!" She turned toward Riku, a bright smile on her face. "Hi there! Don't mind Hayner. He can be a real jerk. He and Seifer tend to fight over who owns the town," she added rolling her eyes. "My name's Olette, and this is Pence," she pointed toward the chubbier of the trio who seemed to be engrossed in his ice cream. His brown eyes glanced upward and he waved toward Riku and the King, mouth too full of ice cream to really say anything. "What's your name?" she asked Riku, hands behind her back and tilting her head to the side. Now was the time to work his charm.

"I'm Riku. This is my friend, Mickey. We're just wondering if maybe you could help us out with something," Riku asked, confidently, brushing back locks of silvery violet from his aquamarine eyes. "You see, as you said, we're new in this town and we don't really know where we're going." He smiled at the girl, hoping to get some answers. They had to know where this mansion was after all.

Olette seemed to stare at him for a moment before she felt Hayner tap her on the shoulder, snapping her back to reality. "O-oh! Yeah, ummm... what was I saying?"

Pence started laughing as he walked forward and placed a hand on Olette's shoulder. "Don't mind her," he said with a grin, still clutching his half-eaten ice cream bar. "She's probably just developing one of her legendary crushes. First it was Seifer, then it was Setzer, and now-" He winked at Olette which earned him a slap on the shoulder.

"Pence, please! Shall we not!" Olette reprimanded, and Pence and Hayner both laughed.

"Anyway," Riku cut in, folding his arms across his chest. "We're trying to find the Old Mansion. We were told it was just outside of town here. Can you tell us where we can find it?"

The trio looked at Riku and King Mickey, their smiles disappearing and a they all seemed to share a simultaneous shiver. "Why would you want to go that creepy old mansion?" Hayner questioned them, mimicking Riku's stance, folding his arms as well, and peering at the both of them as if trying to x-ray them.

"Yeah. Rumor has it that that old place is haunted," Pence added, a small tremor could be heard in his voice.

Hayner gave Pence a nudge and laughed. "Aww, what's wrong, Pence? Are you a scardy cat?"

"N-no! It's just... well, hey! You asked them first why they'd want to go to that creepy old mansion! You're just as scared as I am!" he shot back, and Hayner's laughter quickly changed to a scowl.

"Stop bantering you two. C'mon, Riku. We'll show you how to get to the mansion, but if it's alright, we're not going to go in there with you," Olette told him, leading the way down the road, Hayner and Olette munching their ice cream as they went. Shortly after, the trio stopped in front of a rather large hole in the brick wall that surrounded the town. "If you go through here, you'll come to a forest. Just walk straight ahead in the clearing, and the mansion is right through the trees. You can't miss it. "

"Are you sure you don't want to come with us?" Riku gave them a playful smile, feeling somewhat nostalgic for his days with Sora and Kairi.

"No no, we're sure. You guys go on ahead, but be careful!" Pence insisted as he pointed his ice cream stick at Riku and King Mickey.

"Don't you worry about us, now. We'll be fine," the King insisted as he stepped through the whole. "Thanks for helping us find the place! I'm sure we'll see you around the town later on!"

"Yeah, thanks," Riku added with a nod as he turned to climb through the hole and follow the King. As he walked through the forest, Riku couldn't help but feel a sense of familiarity about the place and before long they found themselves in front of the large, iron gates where a very tall, old house stood, a long, brick wall surrounding it. The insides of the walls were nettled with pine trees, and bushes and vines were growing up alongside of the wall, giving it the impression that a gardener or landscaper hadn't touched it in years.

"Yes! This is it! I've... been here before," Riku breathed, his eyes scanning his surroundings. "At least... I'm pretty sure I have. This place looks really familiar. This is the place where I fought him..." He stopped for a moment, placing his index finger and thumb against his chin, his other arm folded across his stomach.

_Riku slowly walked forward toward the tall, , sharp iron gates that had been placed protectfully in front of the massive mansion behind them. The just the look of the gate screamed 'no tresspassers' to Riku. He gazed upward, watching the orange clouds drift by lazily in the blue, twilight sky, his eyes searching the windows of the large house. "Maybe Naminé is here..." he wondered to himself out loud. _

_"Hold it!" a harsh voice came from behind Riku and he gasped, whirling around and clenching his fists, prepared for anything DiZ might want to throw at him again. There in the clearing of the forest, stood his replica, dressed in the same dark suit of armor Riku had once worn back when Ansem had possessed him. The boy before him was a replica of he himself that Vexen had created from data he'd gathered in a battle he had engaged with Riku prior to his own demise. This replica was unlike Riku, unburned by the ability to wield the darkness as he saw fit without fearing it. He walked foward toward the real Riku, ready to face him in battle, sizing him up. "Hmph. You've changed. Your own darkness. It doesn't frighten you anymore."_

_"How can you tell?" Riku inquired, equally sizing up his replica. _

_"Because I'm you," the replica replied, eyes not leaving Riku's. _

_"No, I'M me," Riku corrected, the stare down not withstanding. _

_"I'm me, he says. Must be nice being real. A fake like me could never get away with saying that. That's right! I'm a phony! A fake!" The replica cried out, sorrow and acceptance sounding in his voice. "The way I look, the way I feel, everything I remember! And even.. this newfound power!" He clenched his fists and held out his hands as a dark light emanated from his body and flowed upward, enveloping him in a sinisterly lit darkness. Riku gasped, stepping back at the terrible sensation coming from his replica. _

_"I thought by finding new strength, I could finally be someone!" The light dissipated, leaving Riku's replica standing there, emotions pouring out of him right and left. "Someone who's not at all YOU! But... nothing changes... I'm still just empty!" his voice shook, hitching with rage and sorrow, almost as if he could burst into tears at any given moment, and Riku wondered if his replica could cry, would he, and he felt a momentary sympathy for the puppet replica in front of him. "Everything about me is borrowed. As long as you're around, I'll never be more than a shadow!" _

_The replica summoned his own version of Soul Eater, readying his attack, while Riku did the same and blades clashed. It wasn't long before Riku had swiftly taken down his replica, knowing what moves the replica would use considering most of them were his own talents, it wasn't hard to tell which maneuver would come next. He easily side-stepped many of the replica's lunges, and parried when he began blindly swinging his sword, no longer using a technique, but powered his heartbreak and his rage into every swing or thrust of the blade, causing him to lose focus. Riku had taken that second of vulnerability and brought him down, hard. Riku panted as the battle came to an end, and the replica collapsed, falling on his back with a pool of darkness surrounding him. _

_"So... it's over," his voice was quiet and accepting. "Hmph. Death doesn't frighten me. Good riddance to a phony life. My heart was... never real. I'm sure even what I'm feeling now is probably all fake."_

_"What are you feeling?" Riku asked kindly, his curiousness getting the better of him. _

_The replica ignored his question. "What happens when a fake dies? One like me? Where will my heart go? Does it disappear?" _

_"It'll go somewhere," Riku tried to encouraging his dying replica. He wasn't sure why he felt the urge to comfort him, but he did. Maybe it was because of the longing and the aching in his own heart, and maybe it was because his replica could feel many of the same things he felt, because they were nearly one and the same. "Maybe... to the same place as mine." _

_"Tch. A faithful replica until the very end," the replica replied, somewhat sarcastically. "That's... okay." He spoke his last words before closing his eyes and the pool of dark energy surrounding him overwhelmed his body, and he disappeared, only a few lights left in his wake rising toward the sky before vanishing. Riku stared at the empty spot on the ground, drawing his eyebrows inward, and something inside moved him. He placed his hand on his heart, and closed his eyes, before turning to make his way through the gates leading to the mansion._

"I fought my replica here. This was where I defeated him," Riku told the King walking forward. He couldn't help but feel that same twinge of guilt and sympathy like he had before. "What would life had been like living on false memories and a fake existence? A created heart? Only someone like him would know. You know, asides from the fights I've had with Sora, this was one fight I didn't want," Riku said quietly more to himself than anything. He approached the spot where his replica had disappeared and inclined his head upward, looking at the sky. "I wonder if his heart is with mine now?" Riku knelt down on his knee in the place where his replica died and placed a hand on his chest, lowering his head and closing his eyes. "He was my replica after all."

Riku felt a hand place itself over the top of his own and he opened his eyes, to find himself looking at King Mickey who was watching him with a solemn, but determined expression on his face. He smiled at Riku and nodded, squeezing his hand over Riku's. "His heart had to go somewhere, didn't it? I think if his heart went anywhere, it would've been back to you. He came from you after all. He was a part of you. I'm sure now, he's at peace." Mickey smiled at Riku, and the silver haired youth chuckled, shaking his head.

"And I call Sora a sap," he rose to his feet, smiling. "Thanks, Mickey."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Unsettling Reunions

Riku took a deep breath and let it out slowly, his aquamarine eyes scanning the large, steel set of gates in front of them. "Well, we're here. Let's go find DiZ," he told the king, before placing a hand on the heavy, iron bars and pulled them open. Riku and King Mickey walked through the gates, down the long, broken path cemented into the ground. Surrounding the mansion were green shrubs, massive, pine trees and very tall, uneven grass that looked as though it hadn't been cut in awhile. As they approached the entrance, a tall, familiar figure cloaked in red and black stood with his back facing them.

Riku instantly recognized the red bandages wrapped around the man's head and scowled. He had decided awhile ago that he just did not like DiZ, and he didn't appreciate the fact that the man couldn't even face them to properly greet them. He'd been dreading this fated reunion since Yen Sid told them to meet him here. Riku had secretly hoped that the last he'd see of DiZ would've been the night he told DiZ he was taking the road to dawn. Unfortunately, he had been wrong. His scent overwhelmed Riku. It was filled with a sense of animosity and fury, intermingled with a hint of his own darkness, and damp with light grief. He couldn't feel sorry for him though. They all felt grief and anger in some way, and everyone had a little bit of darkness inside of them after all.

"It's about time you arrived," DiZ's voice chastised, deep and accented. "We've waited long enough. Time is of the essence. We must go to Sora, Donald and Goofy and have them moved to the mansion as soon as possible before the Organization discovers his and Naminé's whereabouts. If that were to happen-," DiZ was cut off by Riku's obvious irritation. The boy huffed, placing his hands on his hips. He wasn't about to keep his mouth shut any longer. He'd grown beyond exhausted of this old man's attitude.

"Yeah, we get that," Riku interrupted. "We're sorry we took so long to get here, okay? We _had _been searching for places to take Sora and the others and keep them safe and away from the Organization's clutches. We had no idea this mansion even truly existed until just recently, so don't go blaming us. We were just trying to do what's best for Sora," he spoke up, his voice harsh and loud, the annoyance more than evident in his tones. DiZ turned around, hands placed surreptitiously behind his back and stared at the silvery haired boy in front of him. Riku's brilliantly colored eyes pierced sharply through DiZ's one amber colored eye peering out from under the folds of his bloodred bandages, and he smirked at Riku, causing the youth to furrow his eyebrows and fold his arms across his chest. "Did I say something amusing?" Riku inquired, one thin silver eyebrow raising upward.

DiZ just laughed and shook his head. "Did you not tell me awhile ago that you were walking the road to dawn?"

"What?" Riku questioned, slightly taken aback, his eyebrow still raised suspiciously. He was getting tired of this man's riddles. "What does any of this have to do with me walking my own path? We're talking about getting Sora here safely so he can rest in peace while his memories are restored, right?"

DiZ continued his laughter and the shaking of his head, further building up the rage inside of Riku, who was bound and determined to suppress it. Why did DiZ bother him like this so much?

_Maybe he's bothering you so much because he reminds you of yourself in ways. _Came a familiar, taunting voice in Riku's head.

_No! No way. I'm nothing like DiZ! _Riku shouted back at the voice that seemed to have wrapped it's darkness around the depths of his mind.

_But Riku, DiZ is warped by his own darkness just the same as you are. He's angry, his pride has been hurt, and he's out for revenge. Isn't that something you feel as well? Do you not feel anger?Rage? Hurt? Revenge? You no longer fear your own darkness, yet you fight to suppress it. Why? It is a part of you, after all. DiZ knows, Riku. He can see right through you. Your efforts to hide your darkness are in vain. You can't withhold the truth from DiZ. You can't hold me back for much longer. Riku. Embrace the darkness within you. Embrace the power I have for you. You would be able to rescue Sora if you fully unleash the dark power inside of your heart._

_You're lying! Rescue Sora using darkness?! Are you kidding!? You're ridiculous! Get out of my head! Leave me alone! _"Ugh," Riku crumpled to his knees, clutching one hand over his aching heart and another over his throbbing forehead and eyes. "I'm fine. I'm fine. Just give me a minute. I'm not feeling so good. Didn't sleep much."

"Didn't sleep much," DiZ retorted sardonically. "What a nice excuse for what you're truly trying to hide."

Riku's head jerked upward, his silvery-violet locks of hair flying back from his narrowed eyes and he glared DiZ down, panting lightly as he attempted to control the feelings that Ansem had managed to conjure up inside of him. Now more than ever, he couldn't give into the darkness. He had to get Sora here and know he was safe. Once he knew Sora to be safe from harm, then Riku could take his own journey and learn to find ways to control his darkness, but until then, Sora was top priority. _Don't get mad, Riku... Just chill... DiZ is only trying to get under your skin... But why? Why is he trying to get under my skin? Why does it always seem like he's testing me or forcing me to make some stupid decision? _

King Mickey cleared his throat loudly and stepped in front of Riku. He turned to face the boy for a moment, giving Riku a look of genuine concern and placed a hand on his shoulder, almost as though attempting to shield one from the other with his small body. Riku smiled weakly back and shook his head. _Don't worry_ he mouthed to the king, and Mickey turned around, keeping himself placed in front of Riku, almost protectively. "DiZ. There's no time for all of this right now. Worry about Riku later," he stated, almost scolding the bandaged man in front of him and Riku was grateful for Mickey's words. "Let's go inside the mansion so we can discuss how we're going to bring Sora, Donald and Goofy safely here." Mickey's eyes searched the area in which they stood. "Something tells me we're being watched. Let's go inside. I'm sure you have a plan?"

"Indeed," DiZ nodded down toward the small King. "If you come inside, we can discuss it more." Riku slowly rose to his feet once more, gathering himself as DiZ turned and opened up the double set of doors to the entrance of the collosal, old manor. Mickey followed him inside and Riku followed the King. He stepped inside of what appeared to be the foyer of the mansion. The floor was a faded brown, tiled with stone. Broken tables, picture frames and various objects littered the floor, and it was clear that this old house hadn't been lived in for many years. The small rays of dusty light streaming through the large glass doors sitting at the very back wall of the foyer seemed to be the only source of light the mansion offered. It didn't seem to be too terrible of a place, and not at all haunted like Hayner, Pence and Olette claimed it to be. He wondered absentmindedly what kind of people may have lived here before and what happened to them.

"Naminé will be meeting us here shortly. We plan to use her means of travel. The Dark Portal," DiZ added on, eyeing Riku once more giving the youth another unsettling sensation. DiZ turned and walked up a flight a steps, with Riku and King Mickey following closely behind. They moved down a long, dark corridor, lined with an old banister, before they found themselves in front of a set of red, cedarwood doors outlined and etched in elegant, gold designing. He opened up the large, double doors to reveal a room that appeared to be a library at first glance, but there was a massive, square-shaped hole in the floor of the library. There were a set of grey, stone steps leading down into what Riku presumed was a basement due to the pipe work and machinery that lined the walls. They walked past a door that had been blocked off with broken piping, but there was a dark, open doorway that DiZ walked into, without a word. Reluctantly, Riku followed DiZ and King Mickey inside.

The room was much darker than the entrance to the basement, but inside, the wall was lined with a massive computer system, adorned with about fifteen different, various sized and shaped screens. It was the oddest computer set-up Riku had ever seen, and he captured a glimpse of his reflection in one of the larger screens. He studied his eyes for a moment, but nothing about them seemed out of the ordinary, as he still couldn't help but wonder what King Mickey had meant when he mentioned Riku's eyes. They followed DiZ into yet another room, which was much brighter than the computer room and the basement hall. Lined up alongside the walls on a conveyor belt system were empty pods very similar to what Sora, Donald and Goofy were sleeping inside back at Castle Oblivion.

"Naminé will arrive via the dark portal here," DiZ's announcing voice tore Riku from his thoughts. He walked toward what appeared to be a broken down conveyer system that seemed to be coming out of one of the walls. "We have a sort of conveyor belt that can attach within the portal and on the other side are where Sora, Donald and Goofy sleep within their dreaming pods. Naminé will activate the conveyor belt from Castle Oblivion on the other side of the portal. It will remain attached to the one here. She will see to it that Sora, Donald and Goofy go through first and then she will follow them through here to make sure they have safely arrived," DiZ explained, as King Mickey and Riku listened intently.

"I, myself will be waiting here for Sora, Donald and Goofy's arrival. This is also where Donald and Goofy will be sleeping while their memories are restored." He pointed toward a door at the end of the room. "Inside of there is where we will keep Sora. He will be sleeping safely inside of here, where no one can get to him. He will be well protected. This room also leads to Naminé's room, which will be The White Room in the mansion. Here, the memory witch will use her mysterious power to link Sora's memories back together so he can awaken once more." DiZ turned toward Riku and the King, folding his arms comfortably across his chest.

Mickey nodded his head in affirmation. "We're ready for whatever it is we need to do," King Mickey assured Diz, but Riku wasn't so sure. He was excited at the prospect that Sora would be here soon and out of Castle Oblivion, but the anxiety rose in him higher than ever, causing his heart to pound rapidly against his rib cage. He wasn't sure if he was ready to see Sora. Once Naminé got here along with them, goodness only knew how long it could be before Sora would wake up. Riku was unsure if he were truly ready to face Sora after all that had happened, and all that was still happening within his own heart.

"King Mickey," DiZ addressed the mouse. "You can assist me with the conveyor system. We need to activate it from our side. It won't be difficult to do and should only take a few minutes. Naminé will be arriving here within the next few moments, so we need to be ready. Riku, you can go through the Dark Portal with Naminé and assist her in getting Sora and the others here to safety," DiZ instructed, but Riku had other ideas.

He shook his head. "No, I'm sorry, but I can't go through another one of those portals. They're just, no. Look, you guys don't need me-," the blue-green eyed teen stammered, but the swishing sound followed by a reeking scent and dark vapors filled Riku's senses and a familiar, pale, very blonde girl, with vibrant violet eyes and a small, white tank dress stepped out of the portal. Naminé walked into the room as the portal disappeared from behind her.

"Naminé. Right on schedule," DiZ stated matter-of-factly and Riku assumed this was just the old man's way of greeting people. Still, Naminé's arrival didn't relieve the unsettled feeling in his heart. More than anything he wanted to get out of there and fast. Something inside of him was stirring, and Riku didn't like the feeling it was giving him.

"Yes," the blonde haired girl nodded. She turned toward Riku, titled her head lightly and smiled at him. "We meet again."

"Y-yeah," Riku replied nervously, casting his eyes downard. Her face, it was still identical to Kairi's, even her eyes, but the shade and length of her hair so much lighter and longer, even the pigmentation of her skin was more pale than Kairi's. Still, just seeing her made him miss Kairi so much that the aching in his heart became ever more prominent. He would never let Kairi see him like this, and now this girl who looked just like Kairi could see his darkness. That wasn't okay. At all. He had to go somewhere out of this mansion. Somewhere quiet so he could focus on conquering his darkness before Sora woke up and so this Kairi look-alike couldn't see him like this either.

"I'm sorry, but I have to go. You guys got this." Riku turned on his heel to quickly leave the mansion, but he felt a small hand grasp at his arm. Riku peered over his shoulder to see Naminé looking at him, her eyes worried and his heart lept in his chest, which confused Riku. He wasn't sure why his heart felt the way it did when her small hand grabbed his arm. Maybe it was his old feelings for Kairi resurfacing, but Riku had told himself while he was trapped in the Realm of Darkness that even though he had feelings of unrequited love for Kairi, she belonged with Sora, and he would never jeopardize that.

"Riku?" her soft voice spoke his name, and her hand squeezed a bit tighter, but he tugged his arm away from Naminé's grasp, trying not to appear rude to the girl. Naminé stepped back a step and placed her hand against her chest, blonde eyebrows furrowing upward. Riku could tell she wasn't offended by his maneuver, but that she was more concerned for him than anything.

"I'm fine. I just... I gotta go. I'm sorry. I know you guys will get Sora and the others back here safely. I have faith in that." He tried to give them one of his signature, confident grins, but Riku knew he had failed and he looked to see King Mickey standing there, looking up at Riku just as concerned as what Naminé looked. "I promise I am. I'm just... I'm not ready for this. That's all. You guys take care of things topside. I need to take care of some... other things. I'll be back soon. I promise," he added before he hurriedly swept out of the room, running down the hall past the sleep pods.

Riku felt like this manor was doing nothing but suffocating him now, like he couldn't breathe or think clearly. Everything was a massive blur, and he needed to get away from people feeling sorry for him. He couldn't handle it, because he didn't deserve it. Riku took a flying leap upward and bypassed the stairs of the basement halls, landing on the floor of the library and rushed out the double doors, closing them behind him. Ansem's voice began laughing in his head as the squeezing sensation took over his heart once more, and Riku ran faster down the dark corridor of the mansion, down the flight of stairs, through the foyer and out the doors. He took in a breath of fresh air, but that didn't quell the loud voice ringing in his ears, the voice of the being that had clenched it's cold, dark fist around the silver haired boy's heart. He raced down the sidewalk, out of the gates, slamming them closed behind him.

Riku didn't stop running as he reached the woods, hoping that maybe if he ran long enough the voice in his head would stop. Was he going completely crazy? Riku slowed his aching legs to a halt as he reached the hole that would lead him back into Twilight Town, gasping for breath as though he'd just sprinted a marathon, but it wasn't the run that tired him out. Not at all. The days he and Sora spent racing on Destiny Islands had kept the boy in shape. It was the darkness growing heavier inside of him. Riku pulled his coat hood up over his head, securing it tightly so his face couldn't be seen. He didn't want to chance running into anyone, like Hayner, Pence or Olette. He didn't honestly think or feel like he could open his mouth to say a word to anyone or he just might lose it completely in ways that Riku never wanted anyone to see. He climbed through the hole and found himself standing in the familiarty of the town once more.

_It must be nearing night time now, _ Riku thought to himself, because the town wasn't nearly as busy and bustly as it had been earlier upon he and King Mickey's arrival. It appeared as though owners were closing up shops and the few people on the streets seemed to be leaving the main part of town. Riku waited patiently for the trolly to stop by and decided to hop on it. He watched the signs as the town's train rolled past them on it's noisy rails, and noticed the streets of Twilight Town becoming more and more quiet. He peered at a sign with a faded label reading the words _Sunset Hill_. Maybe this would be a quiet, private place where Riku could collect his thoughts and control the sensations he could feel building up within him.

Wishing the trolly could go just a bit faster, Riku sat bouncing his leg impatiently, when finally it arrived at a steep walk, leading to a hill. Riku figured this could only be Sunset Hill and so he hopped off, making an ascent up the winding walkway, a long brown, wooden picket fence lining it. Riku found himself standing on a flat-top hill with the same wooden picket fence surrounding the small area. Not a single person could be seen and he was a ways away from the town. And so he succumbed, pulling back his hood and going to his knees, clasping at the overwhelming loudness of the condescending laughter that was Ansem in his head.

_What's wrong, Riku? Sora's going to be back at the mansion soon safe and sound. I thought you wanted to be there to supervise his return? _

"JUST SHUT UP!" the teen yelled, unable to contain his voice anymore, his gloved fingers digging into his scalp. "LEAVE ME ALONE! I CAN'T HANDLE THIS ANYMORE! WHY ARE YOU ALWAYS TORMENTING ME!"

_Oh, I see. This is your way of ignoring my question. I understand now. You can't face Sora, can you Riku? The darkness within you is stronger than ever, and you're doing all you can to hold me back. You don't want to hurt Sora again, do you? You can't face your own shame of allowing the darkness to take over you. You shouldn't feel shame, Riku. You gave in to the darkness. It's a part of you._

"BUT I DO! I do feel shame... I...," his voice broke as he clenched his teeth, admitting what was truly in his heart to absolutely nobody except the darkness that was Ansem still clawing at him from the inside.

_You fear that Sora won't want to be friends with you after he awakens, right Riku? That you will lose your best friend? You're afraid to face him because you don't want him to see what you've become, and what you'll continue to become. You don't want to face him after all the horrible, evil, terrible, dark things you did to him._

"NO! That wasn't... that wasn't me! That was YOU! That was your influence! You took over my body! You hurt Sora! I didn't... I couldn't...," but Riku knew he was lying to himself, and apparently so did Ansem as his laughter took over once more shaking Riku to his core.

_Don't lie to yourself, Riku. You know Sora will resent you for all of the horrible things you did to him. He'll be furious with you, and you... you will be left all alone once again. However, if you come with me and let me in, you'll never be alone again. Allow my darkness and your darkness to consume you, so that you may never feel fear or loneliness ever again._

"NOOOOOOOOOOO!" Riku bellowed furiously, leaping to his feet and before he knew it, he was unleashing a powerful burst of dark energy from both of his hands, finally letting go of the dark power that had nearly revealed itself on the train to King Mickey, and he was grateful the King wasn't here now to see this side of him.

_That's right! Feel the dark power flowing through your body! Release that built up darkness, Riku! LET IT CONSUME YOU!_

The energy flew upward and descended hard around him, slamming into the ground, sparking into massive balls of black and purple light before dissolving into pools of darkness around him. Riku clutched at his chest, breathing heavily, feeling the sweat building on his brow, but the voice in his head had quieted into a echo and then there was nothing. The boy walked toward the picket fence, and leaned forward, his hands grasping hard onto the wood and allowed his head to hang, silvery violet strands of hair falling into his face as he squeezed his tired eyes closed as tight as he could possibly get them, trying to ignore the throbbing in his head, the pain in his own heart. Maybe Ansem was right. He lifted his head, opening his aquamarine eyes and stared out into the sunset, feeling a slight, cool breeze rustle past, drying the sweat on his face. Riku was grateful he was out here and alone, so nobody could see the state of disarray he had found himself in. "What'll become of me...?" he wondered aloud, voice sounding pathetically small, but the only reply he received was a gust of wind.

Hours later, and Ansem quieted down now, Riku made his way back through town on foot, not even bothering to take the train. He figured he should go back to the mansion and check on Sora, Donald and Goofy, just to make sure that their transport from Castle Oblivion to the Mansion went smoothly. Too soon, he found himself climbing back through the hole and walking through the small forest that led him straight to the old manor. The exhaustion was creeping up on Riku now, but it wasn't physical. It was mental. Too much had happened that was too close for comfort, and for now, while he was subdued, he could at least check on his sleeping best friend. Riku walked almost blindly, but his body seemed to be leading him toward his destination. His mind was drained, his emotions were hanging on by a thread, but he continued to put one foot in front of the other.

"Riku!" a voice shouted at the boy which jerked him back to reality and out of his stupor. He realized now that he had arrived at the iron gates, which were wide open, and King Mickey was standing in front of them. He rushed toward the silvery violet haired boy who lowered himself to his knee. "Where on earth did you go? I was just about to come looking for ya!"

"I'm sorry, Mickey," Riku replied, his voice sounding drained. "I had some things that I needed to take care of. Are Sora and the others here safely now?"

Mickey nodded his head. "Yes! They're inside and DiZ has them well protected. Naminé is here too and she's settled into her room with her sketchpad and crayons. She set to work right away. DiZ was somewhat hard on her," Mickey added with a sad sounding sigh. "DiZ doesn't hold much regard for Nobodies." He looked back over to Riku and placed a large, gloved hand on the teen's shoulder. "Riku, as much as I hate to do this, we have to part ways now."

"What? Why? Where are you going?" Riku began a plethora of questioning, and then realizing how ridiculously childish he sounded, he blushed. "I apologize Your Majesty."

"It's okay, Riku. I just have some work to do and some things I need to look into, but they are things that I must do on my own. I'm sorry, Riku, but you will be safe here at the mansion with DiZ and Naminé. I promise I'll come back and we'll continue walking that road to dawn together," he gave Riku a reassuring smile. "Don't give up, Riku, and don't forget that no matter how deep your darkness is, there's always a little bit of light." Mickey closed his eyes and held out his hands, where a ball of light appeared and floated, finding it's way toward Riku's chest and it disappeared inside of him, into his heart.

The young man could feel the warmth of the King's light filling him up inside. and he placed his hands over his chest, lowering his head and closing his eyes. He was grateful for this, as he knew it would subdue Ansem's darkness for longer. "I won't. Thank you, Mickey." Before Riku knew what was happening, Mickey jumped up and threw his arm around the youth's neck, embracing him tightly. Riku was stunned at first, unsure of what to do, but he relaxed and hugged the small King back as best as he could, feeling almost comforted by the mouse's embrace.

"Sometimes all we need is just a hug from friend to help us feel a bit better and keep moving forward," Mickey smiled as he pulled back from the boy. "I promise I will be back." Riku bid his farewells and watched as King Mickey disappeared into the darkness of the woods. He sighed walked through the gates, to the entrance and opened up the front doors to the mansion, letting himself inside. He felt uneasy at the prospect of Mickey leaving, but he understood and why and didn't fault him. After all, the King had left him with some light in his heart. Riku knew he could always reach out to the King anytime he needed him, but he would have to stop that soon and fight this on his own, and fight he would. Riku walked up the stairs and into the library, finding himself in the basement hall, where DiZ stood, appearing as though he were waiting for Riku's return.

"So, I see you've come back after your little outburst," DiZ said, his voice oddly calm and not condescending. "I understand why you left, Riku," he added, his tone softening a little. "I'm sure you want to see Sora?"

"First, I want you to explain something to me," Riku stated, his voice stronger now. "I want know what you meant when we first arrived here at the mansion. You said to me that you thought I was walking the road to dawn. I want to know what you meant by that."

DiZ stared seriously into Riku's eyes with his own eye, non-blinking, unyielding. "You are letting the darkness get to you, Riku. You cannot hide it from me, and I can see it building inside of you. Your eyes are the windows to your heart, and your eyes cannot hide what's in your heart. Soon, everyone will see. The darkness seeps from you like sap seeps from a tree. Nobody has ever worn darkness the way you do," DiZ explained, not holding back, not sugar coating a single word, but leaving a rather confused Riku. He walked past the blue-green eyed youth, giving him a glance. "You are welcome to stay and reside here at the manor for as long as you need to. There is a room upstairs to the left of here at the far end of the hall. You make take that room as your own. I'm going in to town. I will be back later."

Riku watched the older man before him, unable to find the right words to respond with, or if he did they would just slip through his thoughts before he could pin them down and voice them. DiZ made his up the stairs and swept out of the library, a heavy _thud_ echoing the room as the doors slammed shut behind him. Riku dropped onto the stairs, resting his forehead on his knees. DiZ's words echoed redundantly through his mind. What had this bandaged man meant exactly, and why did it seem as though he were never clear or specific on the things he would say to him? Riku didn't notice the small form of Naminé as she stood silently at the dark doorway leading to DiZ's computer room, her small hands clutching the door frame. She had watched Riku collapse onto the stairs, mentally drained from the consistent challenges he had faced.

"Nobody has ever worn darkness the way you do," Riku repeated DiZ's words, knowing that deep in his heart, he knew what DiZ meant by them. Maybe it was his own denial that was making him refuse to understand it, or maybe he just wasn't ready to accept it, and Riku wasn't sure if he could ever be ready to accept it.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Darkness

Riku wasn't sure how long he'd sat on the stairs pondering DiZ's words that night, but they kept repeating themselves in his head over and over. His eyes were the window to his heart. Could DiZ see darkness in his eyes? King Mickey had even mentioned his eyes, and Riku wondered what exactly that could have meant. He also couldn't help but wonder if DiZ could pick up his scent, just like Riku could pick up scents. He remembered detecting the darkness on himself back when he was making his travels through Castle Oblivion, and the shame that the foul, malodorous scent had seeped into his very own skin was nearly overbearing.

Riku sighed as he sat sideways on the steps, his back against the wall, his elbow resting on one of the stairs, his cheek laying against his fist. "I know you've been watching me," the teen spoke up, inclining his head toward the dark doorway that led to DiZ's computer room, but did not look up. He could feel someone had been standing there nearly the whole time. He could still feel her presence from the computer room and decided to acknowledge the fact that he knew it was Naminé.

The small, pale, blonde figure in white stepped out. She had one hand brought up to her mouth, her knuckle resting against her lips, and her violet eyes, so much like Kairi's, were soft and looked almost fearful, and what Riku found most strange about her was she seemed emanate a gentle light, despite her being a Nobody. Riku finally lifted his aquamarine orbs to meet Naminé's eyes and she gave him a small, tentative smile. "Hi. I'm sorry. I hope I wasn't bothering you or anything."

Riku shook his silvery violet head. "Nah. You weren't," he told her honestly, and in truth, he felt almost grateful that someone was there with him. Maybe Naminé might be able to understand a little of what he was dealing with. "You can come over here. I won't bite," he added, giving her a half smile.

"I know you won't bite," Naminé said smiling fully now, blinking her eyes. "I just... well, I was worried about you, and I wanted to watch and make sure that you were okay. I hope that's okay." Riku's eyes widened briefly, surprised and startled at Naminé's unexpected kindness, and he couldn't help but admit to himself that he appreciated it a great deal.

"You don't have to worry about me," Riku told her, brushing back some of his long locks from his eyes. "I'm fine." He tried his best to ignore the slightly questioning look of disbelief on the girl's face. So Naminé most likely could see through him too. Riku wasn't sure of how much he liked the idea that people could see and read him easily. He'd have to really work on that.

"Riku...," Naminé hesitated for a moment. "I heard all of those things DiZ said to you," she told him softly, looking down at her sandaled feet, unable to meet his face. "DiZ doesn't seem to really know how to use discretion. He just tells it like it is, and it doesn't matter who gets hurt in the process." Naminé paused, a sad expression crossing her porcelain-like features, and Riku could tell by those words that Naminé wasn't just speaking about himself being hurt by DiZ's words.

Riku turned his body toward Naminé and rested his elbows on his knees. "You're right about that. You'd think the man could learn to use a bit more tact when talking to people," the youth replied, causing Naminé to nod her head in agreement and laugh a bit. The sound of her laughter was almost contagious, and Riku could feel the corners of his mouth upturning into a grin before he joined in Naminé's laughter. The two teens laughed for a brief minute before quieting down, and Riku caught himself staring right into her eyes. It was then that he realized something. As much as she resembled Kairi, this girl was her own person.

Yes, she was a Nobody, but just by looking at her and talking to her, Naminé had her own personality and it wasn't Kairi's. Where as Kairi was more brash, outspoken and could be feisty and playful with her deep, auburn hair and wide smile, Naminé was more quiet, reserved and seemed uneasy to express what was on her mind. Her long locks of soft, blonde hair lay loosely on her bare shoulder, and Riku had to resist the urge to want to reach out and tangle his fingers through them. _What the... I barely know this girl. Why would I want to touch her hair? What is my deal?_

The girl sighed, dropping her hands to her sides and shook her head."You know, he's honestly terrible sometimes with his words and how he goes about things, but in most cases, I think he means well. He's just trying to do what's right for Sora and the others," Naminé said, breaking Riku out of his musings. "Oh! Which speaking of Sora! Would you like to go and see him?" she tilted her head a little to the side and placed her hands behind her back.

"Oh, Sora. Right. Ummm, yeah," Riku nodded his platinum colored head. "Yeah, I would like to go see him. The slacker. Still sleeping away like nothing is wrong in the world," he added, retaining a bit of his playful sarcasm. "Let's go." Naminé nodded her head in response and led the way through DiZ's computer room, to the long hallway with the sleeping pods lined up on the conveyor system. Riku caught a glimpse of Donald and Goofy, slumbering peacefully in their pods as he followed Naminé to the door at the back of the room. She opened it up to reveal a very vibrantly lit, white room. Riku blinked his eyes for a moment, trying to get used to the lighting, and then looked up in the familiar sleeping pod to see Sora suspended, sleeping soundly, a placid expression across his face.

"I see nothing has changed since I last saw you, you slacker," Riku said to the sleeping Sora, knowing that he probably couldn't even hear his voice. "Hopefully you wake up soon, Sora. The world needs you now more than ever." _More than they could ever need me... _  
Riku turned toward the blonde who was now standing at his side gazing up at Sora, with an almost guilty expression on her face. "Naminé, what is it?" Riku found himself asking, unable to stop himself from it.

The little Nobody sighed and placed a hand on the cool glass of Sora's sleeping pod. "It's just that... well... Riku, I was just so lonely, you know? I didn't know that Nobodies could be lonely, or maybe I was just remembering what it was like to feel lonely when I was a person. When I was... Kairi... I don't really know myself. I'm sorry I put him in this state." She lowered her head and closed her eyes.

"Don't worry about it," Riku told her, shaking his head back and forth. "Hey, Naminé. Can I ask you a question?" the youth began, sounding almost thoughtful. The blonde girl nodded beside him. "I know this might seem a little off the wall and out of sorts, but what's it like?"

Naminé raised a thin, blonde eyebrow at him looking at him curiously. "What's what like, Riku?"

"Being a Nobody, I mean. DiZ says you don't have hearts, but you said you were lonely, right? That's why you tampered with Sora's memories, and that's why you came to me when I thought I was fading and you found me and brought me back, but you were in Kairi's form. You're obviously Kairi's Nobody. You have her face, but Naminé, I don't get it. You're nothing like Kairi. Your face and your eyes look like her, but everything else about you isn't."

"I can't really answer that because I don't really know myself," Naminé replied palpably, shrugging her small shoulders. "DiZ says that we're just shadows left over from the people we once were when they lost their hearts. I'm Kairi's shadow, that's why I have her face. DiZ also says we don't have hearts and that we're incapable of feeling things like emotions and loneliness because we lack that part of us that allows us to feel. He says our feelings are just memories. All we are doing is just remembering what it was like to feel sad or happy or lonely when we were whole." Naminé rubbed at her cheek for a moment and cast her eyes to the floor. "We don't actually feel, we just remember what it felt like. It's all shadows. At least, that's what DiZ says."

"What DiZ says, huh? Do you always go by what he says and agree to what he tells you?" Riku inquired, and Naminé seemed to shrink a bit.

"I don't know any other way, because I don't even really fully understand what we are," Naminé replied with a faraway look in her eyes.

Riku folded his arms and raised a hand to his chin, holding it between his thumb and index finger. "You know, sometimes I wish I didn't have a heart."

Naminé gasped, and stood upright, turning around to face Riku full on, and it was the first time the boy could recall seeing something of Kairi in her. The normally subdued blonde actually looked angry and it caused him to take a step back. "How could you say a thing like that! You wish you didn't have a heart? You want to be a Nobody? It's horrible being a shadow! We Nobodies long for our own hearts... All we want is to be our own person, and to have friends that love us and people who want to see us, just like we want to see them. How can we have that without having hearts? You should appreciate the fact that you have a heart, Riku."

Riku snorted derisively at her words. "Really, Naminé? Hearts aren't perfect by any means and having a heart doesn't make you feel any better. Some hearts are filled with darkness and hearts are challenged by it. Because people like me who do have darkness in our hearts, darkness that runs vast and deep like you told me it did, we make stupid decisions that hurt the ones we care about the most. We make dumb mistakes or take the wrong paths and do a damn good job at screwing things up!"

The silver haired boy could tell his emotions were getting the better of him and he turned his back toward Naminé, unable to look at her anymore and not wanting her to see him get angry. He huffed out a breath in frustration. She didn't seem to understand why he wished he didn't have a heart sometimes, or maybe even tried to pretend he didn't have one, but at the same time, even so, Naminé's reactions and expressions confused him.

If Nobodies didn't have hearts, then why did Naminé react the way that she did when he told her he wished he didn't have one? What if someone truly did not have a heart? Would they even have agendas or thoughts of betrayal, rage, happiness and hurt? Riku thought back to his replica. He had told him that he was empty inside, just a puppet, a shadow, something created and not real, but he expressed his pain quite openly to Riku that night they fought in front of this mansion. He even wondered where his heart would go when he died, and Riku liked to believe that his replica's heart went back inside of him. He was after all, a puppet replica of the shadows of his own heart. Were Nobodies the same? Shadows? It was all very confusing to him, because Naminé didn't seem like someone with no heart. If he himself didn't have a heart, would he be the same? Would he still feel pain or happiness or loneliness like how Naminé and his replica felt?

"Riku...," Naminé said his name softly, breaking him from this silent reverie, and he could feel her small hand on his shoulder. "I understand what you're saying, but if Nobodies like me had our own hearts, then maybe we wouldn't be Nobodies. We wouldn't be looked down on or called just shadows of our former selves. We wouldn't be told we're incapable of feeling. Maybe the darkness could risk our hearts, but darkness rests inside of every heart in some form or another. You're not alone. We don't want to be alone either." Riku peered over his shoulder at the girl's genuinely honest expression and felt himself relax.

"I don't get it. DiZ calls you Nobodies. DiZ says you don't have hearts and you aren't capable of feeling or understanding human emotion, right? So, why do you understand so much, Naminé? Why do you get sad? Why do you get angry?" Naminé just stared back, a blank expression on her face, because Riku knew she couldn't answer his questions, but he kept going. "I fail to see how exactly those are just things you remember as a person. You feel them, don't you Naminé? You just got angry with me, right? You felt sad, remorseful at messing with Sora's memories, didn't you? I'm just not so sure I buy DiZ's logic on Nobodies lacking what we have."

Naminé became very quiet as she walked over to where her sketchpad and crayons lay, and Riku could see she was reflecting on his words. She flipped open her sketchpad, sat herself on the floor next to Sora's pod and began scribbling something on a blank page. Riku stood next to her, peering down at the sketchbook, watching Naminé's yellow crayon drift across the page, followed by a blue one, a purple one, a red one, before he realized that she was drawing himself, Sora and Kairi all three together. "Naminé, why do you draw so much?"

"It's how I use my power to link the memories missing back together again," Naminé replied without missing a beat. "It's relaxing to do it this way and I enjoy drawing. It helps pass the time, and sometimes when I'm by myself and I draw, it helps me feel like I'm not so alone. DiZ will probably be back soon and he'll want me to get back to work or he'll be angry. He won't tolerate me taking more time than I need to give Sora back all of his memories." Her voice sounded sad and almost tired, kind of like himself, as he listened to the girl, and Riku couldn't help but feel a rush of sympathy surge through his heart for Naminé. One of these days if he caught DiZ being particularly nasty to her, Riku just might have something to say to the bandaged man, regardless of what he offered. Instead of leaving, he seated himself next to the girl, with his back leaning against Sora's sleeping pod.

The two fell silent once more, the only sound to heard was Naminé's crayons scratching across the sketchbook as she worked. They were both surprised by a voice clearing out it's throat loudly and their heads jerked up in unison to see DiZ standing there. "If you two aren't busy, Riku, I require your assistance. Naminé is working and it's not wise to disturb her while she's doing so. Sora's awakening is of the utmost importance."

"I was hardly bothering her," Riku retorted, rolling his eyes and he noticed DiZ chose to ignore his reply. "So what do you want from me this time?"

"Come upstairs into the library. We shall discuss it there," the older man said shortly, as if impatient and swept from the room. Riku found himself growing further irritated by this man. He found himself wishing that Mickey were back. At least the King had some sort of control over DiZ's unpleasant attitude. Riku sighed, raising to his feet and began to make his way out of the door, when Naminé's voice spoke up from behind him.

"Riku?" He glanced over his shoulder to see the girl had looked up from her drawing and was staring at him full on, a hard expression in her eyes as though trying to see through him, to understand him. "Why don't you want a heart?"

Riku hesitated, and thought for a moment. Then, he smiled at her, almost painfully. "Maybe if I didn't have a heart, then I wouldn't be fighting as hard as I am right now. Maybe, if I didn't have a heart, it wouldn't hurt as much." He continued to smile and then turned his head and left the room. Naminé sat for a moment pondering his words, remembering what it was like to hurt, and the empty space in her chest ached. She raised a hand and placed it over where her heart would be, trying to calm the ache that had seemed to blossom forth inside of her, wondering why if she didn't have a heart, then why she was hurting right now too. 

* * *

The months flew by, and DiZ was sending Riku out on one mission after another. The Dusks, a form of Nobody, were continuing to grow and spawn in ridiculous numbers, and the bandaged man would send the silver haired youth out to either fight these Dusks or look into what the Organization was up to so he could gather information for whatever purposes he desired. He spent many hours sitting in front of his numerous computer screens doing goodness only knew what kind of research or going in to town running 'errands' as he claimed, never giving Riku or Naminé specific answers.

Riku was also growing tired of the way DiZ talked to the girl, like she literally was nothing but an ant crawling on the ground, and the way Naminé cowered around him bothered Riku, but he said nothing. Granted he wasn't sure how much longer he could hold his silence, and DiZ didn't seem to treat him much better, though at times, the guy did have a nice side. He'd sometimes show back up at the mansion with a sea salt ice cream for himself, Riku and Naminé, so at least he had some sort of semblance of kindness, though rarely shown.

One afternoon, Riku was walking through the computer room, just leaving from a visit with his sleeping friend. When he was certain no one was around, Riku would slip into Sora's room and sit and have one-sided conversations with his friend, but the truth was, he missed Sora. He wanted his best friend to open his big, childlike sapphire eyes, talk in that playful, goofy voice of his and smile that dumb grin of his that was insanely contagious and always made Riku smile in some way or another, no matter how down he had been feeling. He could just imagine the things Sora would say if he were awake to hear some of the stuff Riku told him.

_"Awww, c'mon, Riku. This ain't like you. Cheer up! I'll be back soon enough!"_  
_"Riku, you're much stronger than you give yourself credit for. Look at how many times you beat me!" _  
_"Riku, there's no reason to be sad. I'm still right here, and I'll be awake soon and we'll fight this together!"_  
_"Riku, c'mon man. You don't have to do everything on your own. You've got me, Kairi, the King, Tidus and Wakka. We're here for you!"_  
_"Riku, you don't have to be sorry. I know. We know. It's okay. We're still best friends no matter what. You're still Riku." _

Riku found himself chuckling as he could hear Sora's voice in his head followed by Sora's laughter, almost as if the sleeping youth were channeling his thoughts into Riku's mind, but that was just silly. Sora was sound asleep and completely unaware of his surroundings, so he was most likely just fooling himself into believing it, or maybe... Maybe he just really longed to have a conversation with his best friend, to apologize to him for everything that had happened. "I know it's silly, Sora, but I miss you. I miss you, Kairi, Tidus and Wakka. I miss our days on the island when everything was normal. I'm... I'm just sad, Sora," Riku admitted, casting his aquamarine eyes upward to look at his suspended friend, wishing more than anything Sora would open his own eyes, smile and say, "Don't be sad, Riku! I'm right here!" Followed by his signature, stupid grin that always made everyone around him laugh. Sora had always had that affect on people, no matter what they might be feeling. Riku sighed and left the room.

DiZ was not home and the monitors were shut off on his computer. Riku captured a glimpse of his reflection in the screen and turned to look at himself. He realized by studying his reflection just how much he had grown within the past 6 months, which was quite a lot actually. The platinum-violet haired teenager was 16 years old now. He'd gotten much taller than what he had been. His hair was a lot longer and thicker, bangs falling into his eyes and locks falling well past his shoulders down to in between his shoulder blades on his back.

The teen absentmindedly wondered if he should get a haircut, but decided against it. His hair was the least of his worries. Riku had also filled out a lot more as well. Especially in his torso region. His chest and shoulders had grown much broader and his arms thicker than what they had been prior to all of this, and the boy assumed it must have been from all the fighting of heartless and nobodies from the various missions DiZ had sent him on that caused him to bulk up more than what he was. What he found interesting was the way his coat seemed to grow along with him, fitting perfectly to his own form. Perhaps that was just the magic of it since it did a decent job of hiding his darkness.

Riku walked up the stairs in the basement hall, through the library and found himself wandering toward Naminé's room. He raised a gloved fist and knocked on the door. "Come in," Naminé's voice softly called from the inside and he stepped in, unsure of why he was going this way, but he actually had an afternoon off for once, while DiZ was gone on one of his many errands. Normally when Riku would come back from a fight, the first place he'd go was to Naminé's room, where she tended to his wounds and he'd end up falling asleep there. For some reason the softness of her hands and the brightness of the room brought him comfort.

"It's just me," Riku said as he entered. Naminé was seated at the end of a very long, white table in her room with her sketchbook in front of her and crayons laying scattered across the tabletop. She had a frustrated look on her face. "Naminé?" Riku asked walking down the length of the table to stand next to her. "What's wrong?" He felt genuinely concerned for the girl and after living with her for 6 months now, Riku wasn't afraid to admit that he had become friends with this Nobody. At least she made it so he didn't feel quite so alone when he came back to the mansion.

Naminé ran her hands through her strands of blonde hair. "Something's not right... I'm not sure what it is, but either my powers aren't working or there's some kind of force interfering," she laid her hands down on the table palm up and looked at them. "Some of Sora's memories are missing and I can't find them to link them back together." Naminé glanced up at the tall boy standing next to her, worry clouding her pretty features, her violet eyes began shining, filling unshed with tears. "DiZ is going to be so angry at me... I don't know what to do." Riku had never seen the girl look so fearful and hopeless in all these months he had known her, and he reached his hand out to lay it on her shoulder and give it a gentle, reassuring squeeze.

Naminé was trembling, and Riku felt his heart leap in his chest. If Nobodies don't have hearts, then why was Naminé on the verge of crying? He couldn't help but wonder, and the urge to comfort her took over. "Don't worry. You're going to figure out the problem, and then once you do, you'll be able to link Sora's memories back together. I know you can do it," Riku gave her a small smile of encouragement. "If you want, I'll stay with you while you tell DiZ and if he tries anything, I'll step in, okay?"

Naminé looked at up Riku and gave him a watery smile. Another knock resounded on the door, and Riku felt Naminé stiffen, almost fearfully. He didn't let go over her shoulder and gave it another squeeze. "I'll keep him away from you for now. Go lay down and get some rest. You look exhausted." Naminé just nodded her head and stood up as Riku made his way to the door. He opened it to come to face to face with the last person he truly wanted to see. "She's sleeping right now, DiZ. She's been working almost non-stop, and she's exhausted."

"I wasn't looking for Naminé. I was looking for you. I'm going to be sending you to Hallow Bastion soon," DiZ informed the boy and Riku's heart sunk down into his stomach. If there was one place he hated more than anything, it was there. All the horrible memories of what happened in the past came flashing back and he shivered.

"Why?" Riku questioned, as he closed Naminé's door behind him, standing in front of it like a guard dog, his arms folded across his broad chest. The boy was almost as tall as DiZ now.

"I've heard a report that Nobodies are gathering up in great numbers, and I want you to go and investigate it," DiZ replied, not missing a single beat.

"And so you want to send me to Hallow Bastion to do your dirty work yet again," the blue-green eyed youth retorted. "I'm getting just a little tired of this, DiZ. You send me off to do all of the fighting, and I never seem to get enough information for you every single time I go out on these crazy missions of yours. Why are you turning me into your damn workhorse?" Riku growled.

DiZ shrugged his shoulders, placing his hands behind his back. "Simply put, I am not a fighter. I am a man driven by science and experimentation. I study the workings of the heart and why we possess such a gift, and if it truly is a gift or not. I am no warrior. I do not hold the talents of a fighter, unlike you, Riku, and the information you've gathered thus far as helped me further into my research and looking into the Nobodies and what the Organization may be planning. It has also helped me further understand why people carry darkness in their hearts. It helps me to further look into why people so dear to us would do things to betray us or take the paths they choose, and go down dark roads and make the terrible decisions they make. I do not fully understand it, but I want to know why their hearts command it so."

Riku raised a thin, silver eyebrow at the man, and he could smell the animosity, the hate, and for the first time, the revenge emanating from DiZ, intermingled with his own sense of darkness and Riku scoffed at him. "Tch. So you're just using me, right? You're using me as a way to get your revenge for something that has clearly happened too you, and you're too cowardly to do it yourself? Am I right? I'm just the guy you throw into the heat of battle to do all your dirty work." He glared down DiZ, and the red bandaged man didn't say a word, but merely closed his one, amber eye. "It is! I knew it! You know what, DiZ? I'm fed up with it! I'm sick to death of it! The way you push me and Naminé. We're human beings-," Riku was cut off by laughter from DiZ.

"You're human beings, are you? Naminé is no human being. She is a Nobody. A shadow, and that is all she will ever be. She does not possess a heart the way we do. You can stop trying to defend her. She does not feel a thing."

Riku snorted. "Are you kidding me? She doesn't feel? Really, DiZ? Do you have any idea how terrified she is of you? You push her way too hard, and if she doesn't feel, then why would she cry? Yeah that's right. Naminé actually was almost in tears because she's petrified of disappointing you!" Riku was yelling now and he didn't care. He could feel his heart pounding heavy and fast against his ribcage, his face growing hot with anger, and he could smell the darkness rising from his skin, wrapping it's black tentacles around the depths of his heart, but he didn't care at this point.

DiZ had him furious, and he felt unpredictable and volatile. How dare he use Naminé and himself to his own advantage. He and Naminé were just teenagers. They were still just kids, and even though Riku had matured signficantly for his age, he still longed to be a kid sometimes. To have some grown man use him and Naminé for his own screwed up purposes was enough to send the silver haired youth right over the edge. It took him everything he had not to summon Soul Eater or unleash a blast of Dark Firaga on the man standing in front of him who continued to laugh at the boy, which only further fueled the fire building inside of Riku.

"You dare lecture me, young man?" DiZ had stopped laughing now and was looking at Riku seriously once more. "When you yourself are overwhelmed by your own darkness and Ansem's shadow that you can barely even see straight sometimes. Have you ever wondered how you appear to people since you began working for me? Riku, you have no control over your own darkness."

"Excuse me?" Riku's eyes widened, incredulous. "How do you know anything about my darkness! You're not in my heart! You don't know what I deal with on a daily basis or what I even feel! Especially after all the crap you put me through that I do just so you can have your precious information to continue your research! I fight and work myself ragged because you constantly hold Sora over my head!" Riku was still yelling and he made no effort to lower his tone.

DiZ ignored Riku's outburst about Sora. "You are slowly changing, my boy, and it is not because you're getting older, but it's because of your darkness. How often do you use your dark powers, Riku? How often do you utilize them when I send you on missions?" DiZ questioned, standing tall with his arms now folded across his chest. "Answer me."

"W-what? Why does it matter how I use my powers as long as I get the job done?" Riku stammered, caught off-guard by DiZ's inquiry. DiZ remained firm, his one amber eye piercing into Riku's aquamarine ones. It was almost as if he were using some kind of mind control ability, and Riku found himself answering the question. "I only use them when absolutely necessary. Sometimes they are necessary when you send me into battles that can nearly kill me!"

DiZ laughed openly once more, his head thrown back, his eye squeezed shut. "Oh you are foolish, young man. You claim to walk the road to dawn, yet you still utilize the darkness within yourself. You're slowly but surely giving into the darkness, Riku. If you don't want to give into the darkness, then you need to stop exploiting it for your own advantage, especially in battle where you feel the rage and contempt more than ever. Foolish, stupid boy. You're supposed to be intelligent, and you're not showing much of it right now."

For the first time that he could remember in a very long time, Riku felt truly and honestly insulted, offended, and he opened up his mouth to respond, the resentment and outrage building up in him higher than ever like a destructive wildfire. He could hear Ansem's laughter echoing from the depths of his heart, and Riku grasped at his aching, racing chest. The door behind him opened, and he whirled around to face Naminé standing there looking much more calm than he felt, and he could feel her tranquility rest over him like a blanket, but not enough to quell his anger completely.

"DiZ? Riku? I'm so sorry to interrupt, but I needed to let you know that we've come to a standstill in repairing Sora's memories," the pale blonde stated, and Riku could tell it was just Naminé's way of trying to break up the argument between himself and DiZ, even though he knew how terrified she was to tell inform DiZ of this. DiZ closed his eye and shook his bandaged head, placing his palm up against the side of it.

"Alright then. Riku, you will have to excuse me. We will discuss our matters later. Naminé, let us talk about this in your room and we will figure out what to do from there," DiZ ordered the girl and he swept past an angry Riku and a nervous-looking Naminé and into her room. Naminé turned toward Riku once more before he walked away. She reached out to grab his hand.

"I'm sorry, Riku. We'll talk soon. I promise," she murmured to him, giving his gloved hand a gentle squeeze, before dropping it and turning to follow DiZ, closing the door quietly behind her.

Riku turned away from the door and raced down to his room at the far end of the corridor, opened up the door, stepped inside and slammed it hard behind him. He rammed both of his fists heavily into the door and pressed his forehead against it, taking in sharp, heaving breaths, willing himself to calm down after his confrontation with DiZ. He didn't use his darkness because he wanted to use it. He used his darkness because he had to in order to keep himself alive. "How dare he. He doesn't even know. He doesn't have a clue what I'm capable of. I don't want to use the darkness in me, but I have to because if I don't, I may not survive and if I don't survive, who will be there for Sora when he wakes up?"

Little did DiZ know that Riku was holding back most of the dark power within him, because if he were to thoroughly utilize and exploit it to his full potential, it would end badly, and would maybe even change Riku forever, and that wasn't something he was ready for, nor did he ever want to accept it. Riku used his dark abilities only when necessary and that was to keep himself alive. The nobodies he fought were a lot stronger than a hoarde of heartless. He had once tried fighting them without using any of his dark power, but it hadn't ended well.

He'd come home with wounds down his back, on his leg and his arm had been ripped up. If it hadn't been for Naminé and her mysterious abilities to heal and tend to his wounds so no scars remained, he was sure he would've bled to death by then. Riku sighed, walking across his room and collapsing onto the bed which seemed to be welcoming him. He could feel the exhaustion taking over now, and Riku buried his face into his pillow, welcoming the darkness of sleep as his final thoughts faded off into dreams.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Before His Very Eyes

DiZ and Naminé made their way silently down into the basement and to the room where Sora slept soundfully, suspended in his pod like there wasn't a worry in the world. Naminé approached his cocoon of sleep, gazing upward, her expression filled with worry. DiZ's footsteps echoed across the floor as he slowly approached Naminé who didn't take her eyes off of Sora's snoozing form.

"You seem to be struggling," he pointed out, his voice softer than usual.

Naminé closed her violet eyes and folded her hands against her chest, bowing her head, unable to look DiZ in the eye. "A Nobody is interfering, I think..."

"A Nobody?" DiZ repeated, slight contempt heard in his tone.

"I keep trying to piece his memory back together... but what if some of the pieces got lost?" Naminé stressed out loud, still unable to bring her head up, struggling to face the possibility. "There would be no way for me to finish. If that happened, and they found their way into someone else, he'd never get them back."

DiZ remained quiet for a moment, then spoke up, almost as though he were trying to comfort the young Nobody, and it confused Naminé. Sometimes DiZ could be very kind, and others he wasn't so kind at all. "Oh I think he could do without a memory or two."

Naminé's eyes widened and she turned to face DiZ. "But what... what if he needs those memories in order to wake up? What if they're the key..."

"Naminé. You are a witch who has power over Sora's memories and those connected to him. Are you seeing something I cannot?" the cloaked man questioned the young Nobody, his eyes never leaving Sora's pod.

"If his memories become her memories... she will never survive it," Naminé spoke, sadness could be heard in her voice and her head lowered once more as she clenched her folded hands tighter around one another.

DiZ glanced down at the girl. "She?" he asked incredulously, but Naminé had no answer. She wasn't sure who this girl was, only that this overwhelming feeling that a female Nobody was responsible for the delay in Sora's memory restoration.

"I can't tell if it's her interference or something is wrong with my powers," was all Naminé could truthfully answer. "I need more time." The man swept from Sora's room leaving Naminé alone to ponder what was happening, how she could fix it and if Sora would wake back up again.

Later that afternoon, DiZ had returned to Naminé's room, looking less than pleased, and seemingly on edge. Riku was still in bed, sound asleep, and Naminé sat quitely at the end of the long, white table, staring downward at her drawings, unsure of where to go to from there. When she and DiZ last spoke, she had informed him of Sora's memory process coming to a halt and remained uncertain of what to do now that using her powers had come to a complete standstill because of what ever the interference may be.

DiZ had left immediately, most likely trying to find out the reason as to why this was, but Naminé guessed that DiZ may have already had a lead as to what was going on. A couple of hours later, DiZ had burst into Naminés room catching the girl by surprise. Her sketchbook went flying and the crayons scattered all over the floor. DiZ took no notice as Naminé scrambled to pick up her rolling crayons across the stark white floor.

"I have figured out the source of the problem, Naminé. It has nothing to do with your powers being gone, but rather they have been rendered useless for the time being," the man began explaining, looking somewhat annoyed as Naminé lifted her sketchbook and crayons into her arms, laying on the table. He sighed impatiently. "Can you please leave that alone for now? This is important."

"Y-yes, I'm sorry," Naminé stammered as she dropped them all on the table and then sat down in her chair, giving the bandaged man her full attention.

DiZ inclinded his head, giving the impression that he was searching around the room. "Where is Riku? He should be hearing this as well."

"He's still sleeping," Naminé answered quietly. She rubbed her bare arms with her hands. "He didn't look so good when he left to go to his room. I think he's just overtired and needs the rest right now," she insisted, peering up into DiZ's one, amber colored eye with her own violet ones. "Let's... let's just let him sleep for now. He'll be filled in on this soon. I promise."

DiZ nodded his head. "Very well then. I have discovered the culprit behind disturbing the process of restoring Sora's memories. Sora possesses a Nobody by the name of Roxas as you well know. He is the Organization's thirteenth member. Sora's memories are escaping from Roxas and finding their way into another person, this 'she' you mentioned earlier. Awhile ago, Riku had explained to me about the Organization's Replica Program and what became of it. I'm sure you remember all about that?" DiZ spoke inquiringly at Naminé, causing the girl to avert her head and close her eyes painfully, nodding her head.

It still hurt that the Organization had used to her to create a fake heart and false memories all based on lies for Riku's replica, and what she had done to him, regardless if he were real or not, was something Naminé was not sure she could ever forgive herself for, just like how she had tampered with Sora's memories. If she had a heart, it would've been broken from the pain she had put the replica through. Even though she knew it was wrong, the little blonde Nobody had been forced to do it, and watching the replica suffer made Naminé suffer as well, or at least remember what it was like to suffer and hurt for someone else.

DiZ placed his arms behind his back in his usual manner. "Vexen, who was number IV of the Organization, whom was also dispatched of back in Castle Oblivion, created a replica from Sora's Nobody. The replica's name is Xion. She was made by the Organization, but I remain unsure of as to why just yet. She is a perfect Replica of Sora's Nobody. Sora's memories are escaping from Roxas and into her, which is why your powers over Sora's memory restoration have been put to a halt," DiZ explained and Naminé's head shot up. Her eyes widened and she gasped. "Do you understand what I'm telling you, Naminé?"

Naminé nodded her light golden head. "Yes... Sora won't wake up unless we can take those memories out of Xion and put them back into Sora. His Nobody will need to go back to where he came from too. Right?"

DiZ nodded his head. "That's correct. You understand now why I wanted Riku to hear this as well, I'm sure. I need to go and look into a few more things. I will be back shortly. Make sure that Riku is awake upon my arrival. I will be sending him on an errand once he is caught up on what's happening."

Naminé tilted her head to the side, curiously, furrowing her thin browline. "What sort of errand?" She questioned as the images of Riku stumbling into her room after being gone for days on end, dripping blood, his coat ripped, hair touseled, face dirty and collapsing onto her floor, came to mind. She wasn't sure she was going to like the idea of DiZ sending the boy out on another one of his errands and the thought made Naminé angry. She was tired of watching Riku suffer physical harm under DiZ's orders.

"It will be up to him to bring Xion and Roxas here to us. Without Xion and Roxas, Sora will never be able to wake up again," DiZ stated bluntly. "He must do it, Naminé. No matter what the cost, no matter what risks he must take, because if he does not, then Sora will never open his eyes and step out of that cocoon of sleep ever again."

"I'm worried," Naminé began, twiddling her fingers together. "This is going to prolong the process, DiZ. You do realize that, right? If Xion's memories are still separate from Sora's memories, then I should be able to take out the fragments and put them back where they belong in no time, but if not...," Naminé trailed off.

"Then Riku and yourself will know what to do. Riku must bring them here by force if he has to, but they absolutely need to be brought here and soon. Sora's memory process has already gone on much longer than it should have. We cannot hesitate or wait much longer." DiZ walked away from Naminé and towards the door to her room to exit. He glanced over his shoulder. "If they are not, then Riku will have to deal with the fact that he failed his best friend, and will risk losing Sora forever."

Naminé stood up, her small fists clenched at her sides, feeling a shadow of the anger she felt earlier fill her up from the inside. "DiZ? That's not fair. You... you put way too much on Riku's shoulders. He's just a boy! He's only sixteen years old, and you treat him like he's a grown man and your slave." DiZ turned around, his arms folded across his chest to look at Naminé, but said nothing. Naminé continued. "I-I heard the way you talked to him, about his darkness. Don't you think he's scared enough already? You're not giving him much confidence." Naminé sighed and lowered her head. "If anything, you're hurting him more, and that's not helping."

"Why do you care, witch?" DiZ sneered. "You are a Nobody. You have no heart. You are not capable of understanding human emotion or the workings of a human heart. You cannot feel. Riku has done his share of terrible things, and this is his punishment. He must atone for the things he's done, and until he's atoned, he will not earn the forgiveness that he desires. He will not let go of the fears he feels, and the hurt will not just drift away, no matter what one says to him."

"But your words don't help!" Naminé stamped her sandaled foot onto the marble floor, her hands clenching into fists at her sides. "You're hurting him more! He doesn't need to hurt more... There's got to be someone else out there that can do this. Riku's going to get himself killed. He shouldn't have to suffer forever just because of some mistakes he made. He can be forgiven too! I think you're just using him and putting him in your place so you can get your revenge through him-," Naminé was interrupted by DiZ bursting out with laughter, which abruptly stopped.

"You think so, witch?" DiZ snapped, and Naminé could tell she had touched a nerve, and knew she wasn't far off. "You do not know the first thing about this young man and what he's done, nor could you even begin to understand what he feels, nor could you comprehend what I feel. Now, I have work to do. I will be going now," DiZ walked away from Naminé, opened up the door and slammed it behind him, the sound echoing off the barren walls in Naminé's room. She didn't understand where this strange sensation in her body was coming from, but DiZ had repeatedly told her she was incapable of feeling, and called her a witch.

Naminé could feel her face growing hot, and the echoes of a heart pounding in her chest. She wanted to scream to the tops of her lungs, throw a chair, cry, hit something, she wasn't sure, but since she was a Nobody not allowed to feel because of the lack of a heart, instead, Naminé chose to just sit in a chair, subduing herself and wait quietly for either Riku to wake up or DiZ to return. She hoped that Riku would be the one to show up in her room next.

* * *

Riku opened his bleary eyes, gazing around his room and rolled over on his back. He yawned behind his hand, rubbed at his aquamarine orbs and sat up in bed, gazing around his room. He glanced at the clock on his bedside table and realized it was late afternoon, nearing 5pm now. This seemed to wake him up significantly as he realized just how long he'd been sleeping, and he swung his legs over the side of his bed. _Wow... I slept for nearly four hours. I must have been really tired. _Riku stood up, stretched and ran his fingers through his long, silvery-violet locks, attempting to pull out the tangles with his fingertips.

Riku walked across the floor to the door of his bedroom, ready to head back to Naminé's room. His curiosity on what DiZ had wanted with her earlier got the better of him, and Riku wanted to find out from Naminé what the bandaged man had said to her. He stepped out and shut the door behind him, about to make his way toward Naminé's room. Riku had just turned on his heel when he nearly ran headlong into DiZ.

"Good. You're awake. I hope you slept well," DiZ stated, and Riku inwardly groaned. The last person he had hoped to see was standing right there in front of him, arrogant as ever. "I have a mission for you, so you had best be well rested. I have a lead that the Organization is lurking around Hallow Bastion. There has been an increase in Dusks. I want you to go there, eliminate the Dusks and find out any information possible you can and bring it back to me. I have a feeling we may learn something there."

"So, because there's an increase in Dusks, you're sending me to Hallow Bastion because you think that's where the Organization is hanging out? You're sending me back to that place on a mere hunch?" Riku didn't waste time on what he had to say. It didn't take much for DiZ to put him in a bad mood these days, and considering he just woke up, this was the last thing he'd wanted to hear.

"Let me make this more clear to you so that you understand why I am sending you," DiZ began, his body stretching tall as if attempting to tower over Riku and he stared down his nose at the boy with his one, amber eye with an unreadable expression. "Naminé's powers of restoring Sora's memories have come to a complete standstill, as I'm sure you know. I have discovered that Sora's Nobody and his replica are behind this issue."

Riku raised an eyebrow in confusion. "His... Nobody and his Nobody's replica? Just what in the hell are you getting at?"

DiZ ignored Riku's attitude and continued. "As you know, when Sora released Kairi's heart from within himself, he released his own heart as well. Because of this, what was left behind from Sora was his Nobody, which was given the name Roxas. Now, you remember Vexen I'm sure? He is the one who created your replica. Essentially, he has done the same to Roxas. He's created a doll, a puppet, of Roxas. She is a perfect replica of Sora's Nobody. Riku, they are a part of Sora." The man attempted to explain, but Riku just folded his arms and huffed.

"So then maybe you could explain their significance. You say they're a part of Sora, right? So exactly what does this have to do with Sora's memories? What does this have to do with you sending me off to Hallow Bastion?" Just the mere thought of that place sent chills down Riku's spine. The horrible memories he held of that place, the things he did, the suffering he went through and caused... It was enough to send Riku to his knees, but he couldn't show weakness in front of DiZ. Not now. Not ever. Resolving to do so, he replaced his pain with anger. If he got angry, then that would give him motivation, because the boy knew there was no way he was getting out of this.

"Do you not understand!" DiZ raised his voice, causing Riku to flinch slightly. "Do you not realize the importance of this, Riku? This is up to you. _You_ must find out what the Organization is using Xion for and what their purposes are, and you must find Roxas. This is why we must know what their plans are for and what path we must take from here. If you ever want Sora to wake up again, you have no choice," DiZ stated coldly.

Riku felt his shoulders slump and he dropped his head, silently despairing, clenching his fists at his sides. _How... how am I going to do this? Why does it always have to be me? Why does DiZ put everything on my shoulders? I'm struggling with my darkness enough as it is and now I have to fight in Hallow Bastion, one of the worst places I can even imagine going to and now Sora won't wake up unless I do this? What if I can't? What if my heart becomes weak again, and I succumb to the darkness in me? How will I save Sora then... _"How?" Riku asked through clenched teeth.

"As I said, you have no choice in this matter, Riku. If you do not do this, then your best friend will never wake up again," DiZ's voice rang loud and clear through Riku's ears, and his head shot up, fury rising in him like a raging storm and Riku growled, his eyes blazing, and he stared into DiZ's red-bandaged face full on. Even just looking at the man was enough to make the boy want to explode like a time bomb.

"WHY, DIZ! WHY DOES IT ALWAYS HAVE TO BE ME! WHY DO YOU DO THIS TO ME!? DON'T YOU REALIZE I'M DEALING WITH ENOUGH AS IT IS!? I CAN'T HANDLE ALL OF THIS ON MY OWN!" Riku screamed, his voice echoing across the walls of the mansion. His breathing erratic and heavy, Riku grasped at his chest with a gloved hand. He could feel the darkness snaking it's way through his heart, and he struggled to calm himself but couldn't seem to. His words just poured out of him with nearly no control. His floodgate had finally burst open and everything he'd wanted to say to DiZ spilled out of him like a torrential waterfall. Riku took several deep breaths before continuing, but his voice had quieted down, though his words came out in angered pants.

"I'm constantly struggling, and you keep sending me on these missions and these fights. I get hurt because of you. I'm trying to save Sora. I nearly get myself killed at times, and then you criticize me beause I use my dark powers? How can I save Sora if I get killed? You say I can't control my darkness the way you seem to think I need to. Now here you are, sending me off again. Hallow Bastion is one of the worst places to send me because of the darkness of my past there. You of all people should know that, and all because you want me to find information that you could go and find for yourself. I'm tired of this, DiZ. I'm tired of being your damn delivery boy," Riku paused for a moment, attempting to control his emotions, but he couldn't. He just kept tallking. It was like someone had flipped a switch inside of him. Before Riku knew it, he was rearing back fist and slamming it right into the side of the man's face. The impact of his punch made DiZ stumble backward, losing his usual, stiff, tall demeanor, his one free eye widening in shock as he touched the place on his face where Riku's fist had landed, but Riku wasn't sorry, and he wasn't done.

"I'm tired of being your workhorse. I'm tired of shouldering responsibilties you should be taking on, and not me. You do nothing but use me. You use me to fight your battles, you use me to wound and destroy, and you use for me for your own purposes so you can get your revenge on whatever has happened to you in the past, right?" Riku could feel the animosity building up inside of him again, and his wrath had finally reached the surface. "And most of all, I am so damned sick of you holding Sora over my head! Dangling him like a worm on a hook above me and using his waking up to your advantage to get me to do whatever you want! I've had ENOUGH! I WON'T STAND FOR THIS ANYMORE!" Riku bellowed, his agony and his rage to this brink and without willing it so, a ball of dark fire burst from his left hand while the Soul Eater materialized into his right hand.

DiZ lept to the side and out of the line of fire as Riku's dark energy went zooming down the corridor and past the cloaked man, barely grazing his arm, and leaving the sleeve of his cloak smouldering lightly. The dark fireball slammed into the side of the wall in the mansion hallway and disappated in a haze of dark light. DiZ rushed forward and grabbed Riku by the shoulders and whirled him around, his hands slamming down hard onto the back of the boy's shoulders and he pushed him. "W-WHAT ARE YOU-," Riku burst out in surprise as he felt himself get forcefully shoved forward.

"LOOK AT YOURSELF!" DiZ yelled, and Riku was shocked to find himself coming face to face with his own reflection. DiZ had nearly shoved Riku into the remnants of a broken mirror hanging on the wall, and he placed his hands against the wall on either sides of the mirror as he studied his features. Staring back at Riku was his face, but his eyes were not his own.

Instead of their usual, unique shade of aquamarine, these were a horrific amber-orange color, and they were vivid and sharp. They weren't his eyes anymore. They were Ansem's eyes; eyes from the dark figure still lurking inside of his heart, and he could hear the seeker of darkness' taunting laughter echoing in his head. Something inside of Riku broke. DiZ let out a sigh. "Look. Look at what you're becoming, Riku. Look at the darkness. Look at your eyes. Your eyes cannot lie. They cannot conceal the truth that lies far into the depths of your very own heart."

"N-no... this...," Riku stammered as the pounding in his heart increased, and he reached a hand upward slowly to touch the mirror where his eyes flashing that horrible, evil, shade of orange reflected. "It can't be...," Riku murmured as he brought a hand to his own face now, and placed it over his eyes, shielding them from view. He took several steps backward, shaking his silvery violet head back and forth in denial and disbelief before he finally collapsed, keeping his hand closed tight over his face. Riku dropped his head, letting it hang low, keeping one hand closed over his eyes while leaning on his other hand to keep himself upright, long strands of silver hair falling against the sides of his face.

"Was this... was this what the King was talking about?" Riku wondered outloud remembering what Mickey had said to him back on the train, his voice tight and trembling. Seeing Ansem's eyes staring out of his own face was something Rikujust was not ready to face, nor was he sure he'd ever be ready for something like that, but it had happened, and there was nothing he could do about it. Riku squeezed his eyes shut as tight as he possibly could behind his cupped hand, trying to take in some sort of comfort in the darkness behind that hand, and clenched his jaw, teeth clamping down hard, feeling a familiar tingle behind his closed lids, and his nose burned. Riku felt like he was going to cry for the first time in a very long time. He took several tremulous breaths at an attempt to compose himself. _No... not in front of him. Of all people. _Riku felt a hand lay gently on his shoulder.

"Riku," came DiZ's voice softly from somewhere near him and the teen inclined his head toward DiZ ever so slightly, not removing his hand from his eyes. "Come now." Riku felt DiZ wrap his long fingers around his wrist, and slowly pulled the boy's hand from his face. "Take this." He then handed Riku a broken shard of the mirror. "Now, look at yourself." Riku blindly took the shard from DiZ's hand, still keeping his burning eyes closed. "Open your eyes, Riku."

Reluctantly, Riku opened one of his eyes slowly and looked down into the shard of glass in his hand. He opened the other eye and peered into the mirror and his heart nearly lept into his throat. His eyes were once again, his own. They were the brilliant, blue-green coloring of the ocean back home that he so well remembered and they were shining, burning with angry, frightened, unshed tears. Riku averted his head away from DiZ, blinking back his tears and brought a hand up to the side of his face, so DiZ wouldn't see him trying to discreetly rub away the wetness in his eyes. He absolutely would not cry, and especially not in front of DiZ. He was too old and too mature to be acting like such a child.

"Stand up, Riku," DiZ ordered gently, and the platinum haired teen was surprised at how DiZ seemed to have softened so quickly. It was one of those things about the man that confused him so much. Sometimes he seemed harsh and cold, and other times he seemed kind and understanding. This was one of those other times. Riku did as he was told, and stood up, his body still shaking as he attempted to recover from what he had seen staring back at him in the broken mirror.

Broken, just like he felt on the inside, and Riku cursed himself for being so weak and so shattered, showing his weakness in front of DiZ the way he had, almost crying like a baby, but the older man hadn't seemed to mind it. "Here. Take this," the bandaged man held out a hand and there draped over the back of his hand was a long, black, thin piece of cloth. "Tie this around your eyes, and it will help keep your darkness under control."

Riku looked over at the blindfold and took it from his hands. He brought the piece of soft, dark cloth up to his eyes and tied it around his face. The blindfold blackened most of his vision, but he could still make out shapes, shadows and outlines through the cloth. Riku brought his blindfolded face up toward DiZ's, grateful that he had the blindfold to hide his eyes. He didn't want DiZ to see his sorrow. "How will this help me?" Riku asked, his voice sounding small and brittle, and he hated himself even more. How would a blindfold keep his darkness at bay when he could still hear the terrible echoes of Ansem's jeers and eerie laughter inside of his heart and his mind?

"This will hide the truth in your eyes, and it will help you contain the darkness in your heart, but it will only help. This is not a fix all, and you can't rely on it forever. Riku, you are responsible for your own darkness, and while this will be a temporary solution, it will not save you. Only you can save yourself if you so choose," DiZ explained, before he let go of the boy's shoulder. He cast one more look at the boy, and Riku could tell DiZ was studying him momentarily before he left the hall and disappeared toward the library, heading to the basement.

"What if I can't save myself?" Riku asked out loud, his voice reverberating off the walls around him. He sighed as he placed placed his fingertips against his now shielded eyes and he glanced down the empty hallway. The only way to find out was to do was he was told and head to Hallow Bastion and fight. He summed the Dark Portal and Riku stepped through it, heading to the world he loathed with all his heart.

Within moments, Riku found himself in the horrible familiarity of the place, and his lifted his silvery head, taking in a deep breath through his nose. He could identify the scent of the Heartless and knew that they were nearby. He could also smell the Dusks as well, and so placing one foot in front of the other, no matter how mentally weary he felt, Riku began moving forward. He summoned Soul Eater once more, and a swarm of Heartless began making their way toward Riku. Riku prepared himself, positioning his body into that of a battle stance and set off at a dead run, using his sense of smell and feel to find his way toward the Heartless.

Riku took a flying leap and with a yell, raising his sword high above his head, and landed on his feet right in the middle of the flock of dark creatures, swingly his blade swiftly and expertly as he went. Within moments, they were defeated, and Riku straightened himself, continuing his ascent up the crystal fissure of Hallow Bastion. He was surprised that the scent of darkness that normally emanated from his very own skin, despite wearing his black coat, was nowhere near as strong as it normally had been when he fought. The silver haired teen was momentarily felt grateful for the blindfold that DiZ had given him. He couldn't feel the darkness. He couldn't see the darkness. If he couldn't see the dark, then the dark couldn't tempt him.

Riku moved through the crystal fissure, effortlessly taking out Heartless by the handful, and seeking out the creepy Nobodies. He could smell the intensity of their scent, a darkness mixed with a void and something rank he couldn't identify, but he knew he was coming closer. Out of the nowhere the scent grew stronger, but it was a mix of both Nobody and Heartless alike. "Oh, crap," Riku muttered as the Dusks weaved their way toward him with swift poise, which was something he wasn't ready for. A massive hoarde of Dusks and Heartless were heading his way and coming right for the young man, and he had no choice but to summon the dark powers within him.

Much like the fireball he had released back at the mansion, Riku unleased it once more, but it flew out of his hand in a four separate masses of dark energy, slamming into Dusks and Heartless alike, sending them flying. Riku soon discovered that fighting with his blindfold on was a lot harder than he had imagined, and the Nobodies and Heartless that were now swarming him weren't just Shadows and Dusks anymore.

They were growing bigger, stronger and changing form. The Nobodies were a lot harder to fight than the Heartless. They were much stronger, almost with wills of their own, and Riku cried out as he felt a sharp object that one of the Nobodies had been wielding slash through his arm. He swung Soul Eater, attempting to parry an oncoming attack, but was unprepared as another one came up from behind him and sent it's own blade into Riku's side. Three more attempted to climb onto Riku, and their claws dug into his coat, clawing him down his back.

"Urgh," moaned Riku as his gloved hand went instinctually to his side. "I can't do this. I'm completely outnumbered. I gotta make a run for it." Riku unleashed one more powerful attack of Dark Aura, taking out more Heartless and Nobodies as he cleared a path to make his escape. He could feel the blood seeping out of the gash in side and arm, and the cuts and lashes down his back burned. He raced forward, eventually escaping the hoarde of monsters, and found himself behind a large rock, to which he finally went to his knees. He slammed the tip of Soul Eater into the ground and clutched onto the hilt for support, his head hanging in between his arms as he breathed heavily, clenching his teeth and hissing in pain as each breath jarred the deep wound in his side.

Riku gave himself a moment to regain some of his strength, casting a weak cure spell that helped dull the pain, but not heal his wounds. Riku heard footsteps coming from somewhere above him. _Damn... _He scampered to his feet as best he could and hid behind a large boulder, peering upward to see the shadows of two tall figures. From what he could make out through the black fold of cloth on his face, they were dressed in the same black coat that he himself wore. Riku breathed in and instantly recognized their scent. _The Organization! So DiZ was right..._

Riku couldn't tell what members of the Organization they were. Their hoods were pulled up to hide their appearances, nor could he even make out was being said between the two, but could hear their voices, and then one summoned a dark passageway and the two cloaked figures disappeared into it. Riku stood up, ready to follow them, when he felt the wound in his side seer with agony. He groaned, placing his already blood-soaked, gloved hand back over the wound, attempting to put pressure on it to stem the flow. He could feel himself growing hazy.

"I've gotta get back. I've gotta-," his voice trailed off and Riku summoned his own dark portal that would take him back to the mansion. Riku stumbled into the all white room that was Naminé's, knowing why he had decided to come here. This room and Naminé gave him comfort after a hard battle, and this had been one of the toughest ones he'd fought on his own yet.

"Riku!" Naminé burst out in shock as his the whirring of the dark path appeared in her room and he came stumbling out. He took a few steps, raising his head toward the brightness that could be seen through his blindfold and of Naminé's shape. He breathed in the glow of her familiar scent and felt his heart ease in his chest. "What on earth happened to you!" she gasped, fear resounding in her tone. Naminé had helped him many times in the past from when he'd come back wounded, but this was more intense than the other times. "Riku! Answer me! Are you alright!?" Her voice reflected panic, and Riku felt guilty for making her worry so much about him.

"Nami- I... so tired," Riku tried to say, but his words came out broken and slurred. He could feel the vertigo overtaking him now and the silver haired boy began falling forward. Naminé rushed toward Riku, her arms outstretched as Riku went to his knees, and Naminé caught him before he could fall onto his face against the cool, white marble of the floor. He laid his heavy head on her shoulder. The exhaustion swept up on him, and the pain was jarring and sharp as he felt the softness of Naminé cloak him, before his eyes closed and consciousness wavered out, finally succumbing to the pain of his injuries, and Riku knew no more.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8- An Unexpected Meeting

"Riku? RIKU!" Naminé cried out in alarm, the echoes of where a heart may reside seemed to pound against her ribcage, as the silver haired boy fell unconsciously against her. "Oh no, no. What happened to you? What do I do?" Her arms were wrapped around his waist, attempting to hold his much larger self upward, and his head lay heavily against her shoulder. She could feel something wet, warm and sticky against the side of his coat on her arm, and her eyes widened. "Okay, think Naminé... think..." She awkwardly lifted his deadweight body as carefully as she could and laid him gently onto the floor of her room.

Looking down at her arm, she realized the wet substance was blood, and it was seeping out of his side, smeared all down her arm and slowly staining the floor red. Panic flooded her from the inside out. She had seen Riku injured many times from missions he'd went on for DiZ but never this bad, and he'd never passed out from wounds. He'd crashed from exhaustion, but nothing like this. Naminé had studied up on healing magic when she'd first seen Riku come collapsing, wounded limbs and in pain, into her room from the first more dangerous mission DiZ had sent him on. He had insisted that it was just a scratch, and from then on, Naminé had convicted herself to studying healing magic as it did most of the work, but she'd never had to deal with a wound so severe, and if he was left hanging any longer, he'd lose too much blood.

"I'm sorry, Riku. I need to see the wound, and I know you're not awake, but unless I can see it, I don't know if I'll be able to help you," Naminé apologized, knowing Riku most likely couldn' hear her. She unzipped his coat to his waist down and carefully slipped his arms out of the sleeves. Underneath his coat were his normal clothing that he might wear on a day to day basis, which Naminé had never seen before, and was surprised at just how _Riku_ the style was. She couldn't help but think that she'd like to see him in just that outfit sometime, but knew it would never happen. After all, he wore this coat to keep himself from being detected by his darkness, and to protect his slumbering best friend. She carefully unzipped the black shirt underneath his vest and slid his arms out of the arm holes.

Naminé couldn't help but blush over how refined and carefully chiseled his body was for being only a 16 year old boy, and wondered why she'd have such silly thoughts; girlish, teen thoughts, as Kairi would have called them, but it was hard not to admire how nicely he looked bare-chested. For one so young, he had a very good physique, with thick, muscled arms and a defined torso. "Stop it, Naminé," she gently scolded herself, feeling embarrassed, and tore her eyes away as she carefully rolled Riku onto his side and pushed back the leather coat. She gasped, violet-blue eyes widening as her view fell on the massive gash, deep and lacerated into his side.

"Oh, Riku... what did they do to you?" Naminé murmured as she ran her fingertips gently over his bleeding flesh, not even bothered by his blood getting on her. She peered at his bare back and noticed the slashes and scratches across it as well. They weren't as deep as the laceration in his side, but still looked inflamed, angry and painful, almost as if something had attacked him from behind. "I really hope this helps you," the little blonde girl sighed as a soft, glowing green light began flowing from her hands. It twisted out in an almost vine-like pattern and wrapped itself around Riku's wounds, glowing and shimmering with magic as the healing process began to take affect.

Naminé watched anxiously, working carefully as the magic of her spell slowly began closing up the lacerations in his side and on his back, and she let out a breath as the redness had began to dissipate into a light pink, leaving only a trace of a scar on his side and the wounds from his back completely disappeared, with not even a hint of scarring. "Thank goodness," Naminé sighed as she lowered her hands to her sides, feeling somewhat drained from using so much magic at once. Riku moaned softly, and mumbled something incoherently as Naminé pulled his clothes back on. She was surprised that his clothing seem to magically repair itself and conceal his everyday clothing he wore underneath the coat, and wondered absentmindedly how that could be possible.

"It's okay," she soothed him, wondering if despite the fact that he was unconscious, he could hear her. "I'm just gonna get you dressed again so you don't get cold," she told him softly. She zipped up his coat and then the urge to run a hand over his forehead took over, and Naminé wondered how that was possible as well. Not caring to try and decipher the reason why, she followed her urge, and brushed back some of Riku's silvery violet bangs and realized for the first time that he was wearing a black blindfold. She had been so preoccupied with caring for his wounds so he wouldn't bleed to death, that she never even realized it. "Why on earth is he wearing this?" She thought out loud, but ignored it as her hand brushed across his clammy forehead. "Oh, Riku... what is DiZ making you do?" She carefully laid his sleeping head on her lap and continued to stroke his forehead.

Naminé pondered with herself for a moment, wondering why she was getting these sorts of feelings if, like DiZ said, she didn't have a heart. She was probably just remembering how Kairi may have felt about Riku, but her feelings seemed to be immensely different. Naminé delved into her memories, Kairi's memories, closing her eyes and leaning back against the wall. Kairi never felt this way about Riku, but she did about Sora.

To Kairi, Riku was that special, big brother-type figure whom she loved and looked up to and cared for a great deal, but the types of feelings Naminé were having for Riku were not the same as Kairi's feelings. However, the feelings Kairi had for Sora were almost identical to the ones Naminé had been finding herself slowly developing for this blindfolded boy in her lap. "I don't understand," Naminé sighed in frustration as she peered down at Riku's sleeping face. Originally, Naminé had thought she had those feelings for Sora like Kairi had, but it had turned out they were just shadows of Kairi's feelings.

The feelings Naminé were currently having for Riku seemed more real and not that of a shadow of emotions felt through her other. "If I don't have a heart, then why do I feel this way?" She could feel a swooping sensation in her chest, and Naminé placed one hand against her empty chest, feeling the remnants of a beating heart that almost ached with a sensation she didn't understand. She ran her hand softly down the side of Riku's face. "This is how Kairi feels about Sora, I think, and this is how I feel about you, even if I'm not allowed to feel, I can't help myself."

Riku, sleeping soundly now, his chest rising and falling slowly with each deep breath of sleep, nestled his face unknowingly into Naminé's hand, almost as if his subconscious self was seeking comfort from the little, blonde Nobody. Naminé laid one arm across his chest, cupping his shoulder with one hand, doing her best to hold him to her continued to stroke his smooth skin, carefully fingering the soft folds of his blindfold at times, and the boy slept on. She felt truly at ease and content, being so close to him, and wondered if Riku were awake, would he feel the same?

"I don't care what DiZ says," Naminé said softly to herself, feeling determined. "I can't help that I feel this way, even if I'm not allowed to or I can't, I do. Riku, you make me feel like I have a heart," she told him, gazing down at his face and she could feel traces of a smile turning up the sides of her lips. "And that's okay with me." Naminé smiled now, full on, and wondered if this was what happiness felt like, and then leaned her head back once more against the wall, feeling herself slowly beginning to drift off into much needed sleep, and here, she knew she could sleep comfortably with Riku in her arms.

Riku awoke with a start, and opened his eyes underneath the dark cloth over his face. He could see from the brightness that seemed to seep through his blindfold that he was inside Naminé's vibrant, white room. He realized his head was laying against something soft, and inclined his head upward. His eyes found Naminé's face, sleeping peacefully and tranquil, just above his. Riku realized he was laying in the girl's lap, and felt his heart leap into his chest. He could feel a blush creeping up on his cheeks. He was laying Naminé's lap? Riku wondered how he had even managed to get there or even back to her room for that matter? "What... happened? How did I get back here?" he murmured softly, voicing his thoughts. He placed his hand against his forehead, and closed his eyes aquamarine eyes behind the blindfold, attempting to remember what had happened prior to this.

_I was in Hallow Bastion, and then I was ambushed by Nobodies... Oh! My wound! _Riku's eyes flew open underneath his blindfold, and he quickly put his hand against his side._ "What happened to my wound? Did Naminé heal me?_ Riku sat up very slowly and carefully, so as not to awaken his slumbering companion and rose to his feet. He walked across the room and sat down in the chair at the end of the long, white table in Naminé's room, trying to gather his thoughts.

_That's right... I was outnumbered and one had stabbed me in the side. It was pretty bad too, but now I don't even feel pain. Is this Naminé's doing? Even my back feels better. Okay, so think, Riku... what happened in Hallow Bastion? Oh! That's right! I saw the Organization. I should probably report that to DiZ soon. He'll be wondering what I found out. It wasn't much of anything, really. I couldn't even hear what was said, but maybe just the fact that the Nobodies had grown in numbers and the Organization was there is enough information for DiZ... _

Riku was so lost in his own thoughts that his head jerked up when he heard the chair across from him scrape the floor, startling him. He had been so focused on what would happen and what he'd say to DiZ, that he never even heard Naminé wake up. She slowly approached him, her small hands folded up to her chest. "I'm happy to see that you're awake," Naminé said, and Riku could hear the relief in her voice. "Are you feeling better?" She brought one of her hands down to gently rest against his arm, that concerned and caring look showing in her eyes, and Riku felt something in his heart shift. He couldn't remember the last time anyone was genuinely concerned for him like this. It had been months since Mickey had departed and he was left alone.

"Yeah, I am. Was it you that took care of me?" Riku questioned, feeling a blush creeping up onto his cheeks, and wishing his blindfold would cover his whole face, so Naminé couldn't see his reddening face. She tilted her head to the side and nodded it once, closing her eyes and then opening them once more to stare into his blindfolded face. "Ah, thanks. It was pretty bad out there," he admitted, shrugging his shoulders. "The Nobodies are starting to grow in numbers, and they're not just Dusks anymore. They're getting bigger and more powerful. I was completely ambushed by both them and numerous Heartless. It was just a huge mass of black and grey. They got the upper hand on me," Riku sighed and ran a hand through his thick, silvery violet locks.

"The important thing is that you're alright," Naminé added on, pointing her finger upward and wiggling it back and forth. "Even though you got hurt, you still came back alive and you're still here for Sora and...," Namine paused, as the words _for me_ faded on the tip of her tongue. "Well, you're still here to help protect him. That's what matters more than anything."

"I don't know," Riku sighed, shaking his head back and forth, doubt filling his heart. "DiZ was right. I tried to use my dark powers in battle, but there were just so many out there. I could only take out some on my own. Even though I summoned the dark power from within me, I still got hurt." _Can a guy from the darkness like me even be fit to protect someone filled with light the way that Sora is, the way that Naminé is? I couldn't protect Kairi... I couldn't save her. What makes me think I can save Naminé and Sora? _Riku thought bitterly to himself.

"I better report to DiZ, let him know what happened, or he might end up being pretty ticked off at me, if this report itself doesn't get him riled first," Riku said sadly as he rose from his seat, the feet of the chair making a scraping sound across the floor as he stood. He made to turn away from Naminé when he felt her small hand grasp his arm once more. He turned to look down at the petite blonde who's lovely face was filled with genuine worry for him yet again.

Riku half-chuckled. "Don't worry. I'll be okay, Naminé. I have to go. We'll talk more soon, okay?" Naminé let go of his arm, dropping her hands to her sides and watched Riku's back as he walked across the room. He stopped and peered over his shoulder, a blush rising to his cheeks. "Thanks for taking care of me," he told the girl with a shy smile. He then turned, made his way to the door and disappeared on the other side of it. A dreadful sensation rose up inside of her as she watched him leave the room. She had a feeling she might not see him again for a little while.

* * *

Riku sighed as he began making his way down the long corridor, toward the library, assuming DiZ was most likely down in the basement sitting in front of his many computer screens. He was dreading approaching the man and telling him what happened, but he decided to sugarcoat the fact that he had been hurt, and the fact that he'd had to use his dark abilities. Perhaps that would make this meeting with him go a little easier, but he did have more appreciation for DiZ since he'd helped Riku come to understand what his darkness was doing to him, along with the ability to help hide the truth in his eyes. Riku absentmindedly lifted a hand to touch his blindfold. "Here goes nothing," he spoke under his breath and made his way into the computer room.

"Riku!" a familiar voice burst out as the boy stepped into the room and he whirled around toward the source of the voice. Running toward Riku was someone he hadn't seen in months, and he couldn't help but let a smile break across his face. _Mickey!_ Riku stooped down on one knee as a the little King made his way toward the boy and jumped up into his arms, giving him a big hug. "It's so good to see you again, Riku! I'm sorry I was away for so long!" Mickey apologized as Riku sat him down.

"It's alright, Your Majesty. I understand you had important things to take care of being a King and all," Riku replied, a trace of happiness he hadn't heard in so long could be detected in his voice.

"Look at how you've grown!" Mickey mused, as Riku rose to his full height. "Last time I saw you, you were quite a few inches shorter! And you've changed too. Something is different about you," Mickey said thoughtfully folding a small arm across his chest and resting his elbow on top of his forearm, finger to his mouth.

Riku felt a rush of shame rise up inside of him, and was truly happy that he had a blindfold covering his eyes. "Yeah. Some things happened, but don't worry," Riku added trying to sound enthusiastic. "I'm going to be just fine."

DiZ, who had been focused on his numerous computer monitors the entire time, cleared out his throat and turned his chair around to face Riku and King Mickey. "I apologize for breaking up this little reunion, but Riku? I believe you have a report to make? Did you find out anything in Hallow Bastion?"

"Uh, w-well," Riku began stammering, and he took a deep breath to compose himself. _Just lie to him... He doesn't need to know you were hurt out there or that you used any of your dark powers... _ "I wasn't able to gather much beyond the fact that the numbers of Nobodies are beginning to increase. They're not just Dusks anymore either. They're taking on larger and more powerful forms by the handful, if not more. The Heartless are still running amuck as well. I'm pretty sure the Organization does have something to do with this, because I did see two men in black coats, but I couldn't identify them. They had their hoods pulled up, and their voices were too far away for me to be able to hear them. I made a run for it as soon as they disappeared, and I saw I'd be outnumbered by Nobodies," Riku explained.

DiZ closed his eye one, nodding his head. "So, the Organization is definitely planning something. That much we know, but the question is what and why?" the bandaged man voiced his thoughts out loud, rubbing his chin with a thumb. "Whatever it might be, it could be pertaining to the new information I have currently discovered."

Riku folded his arms across his chest. "What information?" Mickey stood side by side with Riku, staring up at DiZ just as intently.

"It pertains to the Perfect Replica of Sora's Nobody that I told you about just recently. Do you remember?" DiZ questioned, his amber eye staring hard into Riku's blindfolded face. Riku nodded and DiZ continued. "Her name is Xion, and from what I can tell, it looks like she is on the move. I have been doing my best to track her, but she's traveling through worlds performing missions and tasks for the Organization. The last place she was currently headed for was The Beast's Castle. It will take some travel through a few worlds to reach it, but I'm sure you can handle it?" DiZ inquired, raising from his chair and placing his hands behind his back.

"I understand," Riku stated with a firm nod, and Mickey beside him nodded his head as well, looking sharply at DiZ.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to accompany Riku. There are some things I'd like to look into myself, and Riku and me. We're connected, you see? If you need help finding out information about this Xion girl, then we will find it for you together!" Mickey clenched a small fist at his side, and Riku could see the determination in the small King's face.

A warm feeling billowed in Riku's chest, and he couldn't help but feel appreciative that Mickey wanted to be alongside him once more, but Riku wasn't so sure if he really wanted the king there. The idea of it also unsettled him, and it wasn't a matter of not liking the idea of him tagging along for the trip, but rather Riku was fighting and struggling with his darkness, as well as with the shadow of Ansem. The last thing the silver haired teen wanted to do was worry the King, nor for the King to see a side of him that Riku never wanted him to see. Riku started to open his mouth to say something but was interrupted by DiZ.

"Indeed, Mickey. You may accompany young Riku, and as soon as you two have gathered enough information, report back to me as soon as you possibly can," the bandaged man ordered, and he turned his back toward them once more, staring at his computer screen.

"Alright then, Riku! Let's go! DiZ said Xion was headed toward the Beast's Castle. We'll have to go through Hallow Bastion to get there. Perhaps we should start our search there, and if we don't find her, we'll go straight to The Beast's Castle," the King explained as he and Riku walked out of the computer room, heading toward the entrance of the mansion.

"I was just in Hallow Bastion, Mickey. We have to be very careful and we're going to have to try and avoid those Nobodies as much as possible. If the Organization finds out we're there, they'll either get Xion out of the line of fire or stage a coup, and that would be really bad. We can't let the Organization take over," Riku explained, his tone flat. "So we need to try and sneak through as best we can without being detected."

"Well, these coats we're wearing should help with some of that," Mickey told him enthusiastically. "Don't worry so much, Riku. As long as we're together, we can make it through anything."

Riku shook his silvery-violet head back and forth, bemused. "Fair enough," he replied, a slight laugh resounding in his voice. It was obvious that the King wasn't going to give up on him anytime soon, and so Riku chose to accept that, even though deep down, he was still worried what this journey might bring.

* * *

The days rolled slowly by as Riku and the King traveled in between the worlds of Twilight Town and Hallow Bastion on foot. He wasn't about to make the King travel through a dark corridor into the next world. The King was someone filled with light, and Riku feared tainting the King by having him do so. He himself even worried that his darkness could taint the King as well, so Riku did his best to keep his distance and not use his dark powers whenever he and Mickey were thrust into battle, or would sneak and use them if he and Mickey might become separated during battle as sometimes he'd need to.

The urges to use his darkness were growing ever stronger and the scent of Ansem drawing ever nearer. Riku could feel him somewhere in the depths of his heart, and would find himself waking almost violently almost every single night, plagued by nightmares of the grey haired Heartless; nightmares from subconscious fears that manifested themselves into dreams and nightmares of the past when the Seeker of Darkness had stolen his body, which would leave Riku exhausted and fearful to fall back to sleep, almost like a small child, and sometimes he'd long to be back on the Destiny Islands asleep in his own bed or would long for the touch and comfort of a parent, but that was neither here nor there anymore.

One particular night when Riku had began to doze off, only to be swarmed by the nightmares of his past, and after hours of tossing and turning, afraid to go back to sleep, he decided to get up and take a walk to clear his head. Mickey was sleeping heavily, and Riku didn't want to disturb him, but also didn't want to go too far, so he made sure he was careful about how far he walked and so he wouldn't get himself lost. He'd walked maybe ten feet away from the sleeping King when he heard it loud, clear and deriding.

_"Riku... Riku...?"_

"Huh!?" Riku gasped, whirling around to see if anyone was following him, a chill creeping down his spine as the familiarity of the voice filled his senses. He was close. Much too close.

_"Pitiful boy. You long to go back home to the Islands that you threw away to the darkness almost a year ago. What honestly makes you believe that your parents and your friends would even want to see you again? I can see your mind, Riku and how much you long for your parents to help soothe you from your nightmares. You brought this all on yourself by giving in to the darkness. You gave up having the rest of your childhood when you gave your heart to the darkness, to me. You are no longer entitled to the comfort a parent or friend might offer."_

"Shut up," Riku muttered, trying hard to drown out the man's pestilent tones. "You know nothing."

"Oh don't I? I know more than you would think, Riku," the voice of Ansem resounded louder than ever, and before the teen boy knew it, a swirling cloud of whispy, swirling darkness was appearing in front of him, and slowly took on the form of the man that he loathed more than anything with all of his heart, which had began slamming against his chest in anxiety. The familiar shape of his hair, almost as it were horned, falling to the middle of his back, the long, black and orange coat flapping in the night breeze, he stood tall and menacing. His amber eyes glistened dangerously, a malicious smile sat on his lips, and his arms were folded across his chest as he stared down at Riku. It was Ansem; Seeker of Darkness. Xehanort's Heartless.

"What the...! How did you get here! You don't exist!" Riku began taking steps backward, slowly, too shocked to try and run, and he stumbled, trying to move away from the Seeker of Darkness who was drawing ever nearer now.

The man slowly began walking toward Riku, his hand outstretched. "I came from within your heart after all, Riku. You've been thinking about me, and the darkness that I command from inside of you, and because of that I was able to manifest myself from your heart. You called for me. You summoned me here."

"I did not call for you," Riku spat angrily. "If I had called for you, that'd be something entirely different. I never wanted to see your disgusting face for as long as I exist. Your smell, the way you look, your eyes, the mere presence of you sickens me. It makes me want to throw up," the blindfolded boy snarled.

The Seeker of Darkness just laughed jeeringly. "Oh, Riku. Why do you continue to lie to yourself? You need darkness, just as much as you need me. I know what you have been doing. Why would you lie to DiZ about using your dark powers? Why would you try and hide the truth from that meddlesome King that you rely on your dark abilities to fight?"

"Tch!" Riku scoffed and clenched his fists down at his sides. "I haven't lied to DiZ or anyone about using my dark powers because nobody has asked me. I don't even use them that much. I only use them when I need to. I shouldn't have to go around blabbing my life story to everyone!"

Ansem threw his head back laughing openly once more. "You're a foolish child. Did you not think that DiZ and the King could see right through you? You say you did not lie to DiZ, but you did not tell him the truth either."

Riku growled. "It was my choice whether to tell DiZ or not what I did while in battle, and I don't think he needs to know every single detail of how I fight. What matters is the information I gather for him." Riku could feel himself beginning to waver. Perhaps Ansem was right. Perhaps he did need the darkness in order to fight and stay alive? Maybe he couldn't do anything without the darkness, as much as he hated it. He may not have a choice anymore. If his darkness were to take over him, it could change him forever, and then who would make sure Sora woke up? DiZ would be so disappointed in him. Feeling his rage building up once more, Riku summoned Soul Eater, and the sword materalized in his right hand as he readied an attack position. "I don't need darkness! It won't defeat me!"

"Oh is it a fight you want?" Ansem questioned the boy, as his body began levitating from the ground. "You should stop lying to yourself and to others, Riku. As much as you don't want it, darkness sleeps within your heart and it always will. After all this time you still don't want to accept your darkness. You're still afraid of it."

Riku couldn't stand it anymore. Just the sound of Ansem's voice was enough to send him over the edge and his presence did nothing but further aggravate and infuriate him. Riku shouted out a battle cry, readying Soul Eater and began running for Ansem. He took a leap, raising his sword to lunge at him and slice the tip of Soul Eater through the Seeker of Darkness' throat when out of nowhere he found the man had teleported to right in front of him and was grabbing him by throat. He lifted Riku up off of the ground, holding him high above his head, his gloved fingers squeezing tight around the boy's throat, and Riku's eyes widened under his blindfold. Soul Eater fell from his hand, clattering to the ground as he raised his own hands, clawing and grabbing at the man's hold on him. He didn't understand how something that manifested like this had so much strength over him. Riku struggled for breath.

"It's because of you, you stupid boy. Your heart and your darkness are what brought me here. This is your own strength, your own darkness that you're fighting against, and what you could be if you would just submit to me once more and fully give in to your dark side! You are absolutely nothing without your darkness, and you can do nothing without your darkness." Ansem told him, his face close to Riku's and Riku averted his head as best he could with the man's hand wrapped around his throat.

"YOU LET HIM GO!" a voice yelled from behind Ansem. Riku had gone limp, feeling himself drifting away, willingly ready to just let Ansem take his life if that's what he wanted. He was nothing but a creature of the dark after all, and not someone who should surround himself with Sora, Kairi, Naminé, or his friends and family back home on the islands. The Seeker of Darkness was right. "RIKU!" He heard King Mickey's voice shouting and before he knew it, he was being thrown to the ground by Ansem. He went sailing across the air a few feet before slamming hard into the grassland.

Riku just laid there, bringing a hand up to rub his throat, gasping hard for breath, seeing stars behind the blackness of his blindfold. His head was throbbing as he took in gulpfuls of air and he lifted his head enough to see that King Mickey was clutching his now materialized keyblade, Star Seeker, glowing with a powerful light and he took a flying jump toward the monster of a man, swinging it viciously, the light trailing in it's wake. Ansem dematerialized, disappearing with a lingering scent of darkness and something rotten, and the sounds of his cruel, cold laughter echoed through the night air.

The silver haired teen didn't move. He continued to just lay on the ground, his chest heaving as he panted for breath, and he could hear the running footsteps of Mickey drawing near to him. He felt Mickey lay his hand on top of his head. "Riku? Are you alright? Can you sit up?"

Riku placed his hands under him and pushed himself up, tucking his knees up under himself so he was on his hands and knees. Then he rolled over to sit back on his haunches, one of his free hands rubbing at his throat. "I'm sorry, Mickey. I had no idea that would happen," Riku apologized, his voice shaking and tight. "This journey is becoming more dangerous than I thought it would. I'm a danger to you, Mickey. My darkness is-,"

"You're wrong, Riku"! Mickey burst out, interrupting the boy and surprising him. "Your darkness is your darkness! It's a part of you and you use it the way you see fit. It doesn't mean that you're a creature of the dark. You forget, Riku. You exist between both light and darkness. With as deep and vast as your darkness may be, you can stare into it as fully as possible and there is still light in there."

Riku lowered his head, shaking it back and forth, his body still trembling from the impact of him being thrown to the ground, his throat aching from the grip Ansem had had on it and aching with something else. He swallowed hard. "I don't know anymore, Mickey. He's still there. I can still feel him. He's still close. I didn't even call for him. He just appeared. If he does that again... if I manage to bring him out again... What if he comes back and he's near Naminé or even Sora? What would I do then? If either of them got hurt, it would be my fault. This is something I can't control anymore, and I need to find a way to do it. It's getting too hard, Mickey." Riku's voice cracked, and he balled his fists up, pushing them into the ground at his sides, his jaw clenching.

"But you're not alone, Riku," the little King told his friend sounding sad. He walked up to Riku and took the boy's face in his hands, much like a father would his son. "I'm right here with ya. Remember? We're connected, you and me. We're close pals, and there's something real strong that binds us to each other. I'm always right here for ya. Just like Sora will be, Kairi is and now Naminé is."

Riku sighed as Mickey let go of his face and his turned his head away, unable to face the King anymore, because for a second time in a matter of days, he felt like he was going to burst into tears yet again. Riku couldn't help but laugh to himself at how silly he was being. _What the hell is wrong with me lately? Heh, I'm getting to be as bad as Sora. He and Tidus were the two biggest crybabies on the island. I always used to tease them so much about it. If only they could see me now._ Something inside of him squeezed his heart painfully, and he realized just how much he missed all of his took a shuddering breath and light out a sigh, attempting hard to compose himsef. He turned his blindfolded face upward toward the sky, keeping his eyes closed tight underneath the blindfold.

"Riku?" Mickey's voice came next to him sounding concerned but gentle. "It's alright. I told you this back in Castle Oblivion. I know it was almost a year ago, but don't forget, that even somewhere in the darkness, there's always a little bit of light. You have light within your darkness. Never forget that."

Riku lowered his head to look down at the King, and he smiled a small smile. "I haven't forgotten. Thanks, Your Majesty. I'll be alright. Ansem just got me riled. I really don't understand how he got here myself. I just know that I don't want to be a danger to anybody at all."

The small King nodded his mousey-eared head firmly, his eyes sharp. "I understand, Riku. Just don't forget that you have friends who care and want to help you through this. You don't have to do everything on your own." Mickey suppressed a yawn behind his hand. "If you're okay now, I think I'm going to get a little bit more shut-eye."

At those words Riku felt a twinge of guilt touch him. He couldn't worry the King anymore like this. Mickey should be focusing on other things rather than worrying about him. Riku faked a small laugh. "Don't worry about me. I'll be just fine. You get some rest." _I'm sorry, Mickey... _Mickey smiled with a nod and lay back down in the soft grass, and within moments, the King was fast asleep once more. The silver haired boy sighed and lay down in the grass near Mickey, and felt himself soon drifting off into sleep. No sooner had he closed his eyes, the terrible, familiar voice was back, haunting his dreams. He could see the island, he could see Sora and Kairi running, and he could hear the voice of Ansem telling him the door would soon open. He could see his island slowly being destroyed by darkness. Riku could see Sora running for him, yelling out his best friend's name.

_Sora... I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..._

"Riku!" Someone called his name, vigorously shaking his upper body awake. Riku thought for a moment that it was Sora and woke with a start. "It seems like you've been having these nightmares a lot. Are you okay?"

The person that had awoken him, the one in the black coat giving him the anxious looks wasn't Sora, much to Riku's dismay. It was King Mickey. The moon above shone strands of light onto the grassland surrounding them, and the night air was still and chilly. Everything came flooding back to him as he blearily took in the King's expression.

Riku gave the King an awkward smile. "Oh, right. I'm really sorry, Mickey, for making you worry." He didn't want to tell the King he had been dreaming of his home, of the Destiny Islands and of the storm and the darkness destroying his dear home, taking his friends away.

"It seems that Ansem really is still corrupting your heart and mind Riku," Mickey stated in sad affirmation, and Riku's heart dropped into his stomach.

"It seems so. I don't think he'll ever let go," he sighed in defeated agreement, and looked down at the grassy field underneath him. Even Mickey's encouraging pep talk earlier didn't keep the nightmares away. Riku had known that already, since he and the King had left Castle Oblivion. Ansem was never far. He was still plagued by the same nightmares nearly every single night. However different the dream may have began, it always ended the same.

_Mickey and DiZ say I exist b__etween light and darkness__... What about__ the world of dreams__?__ I wonder is it anything like the Darkness of Bet__w__een?__Like Ansem, I don't know for certain if it is real, or manifests with the same intentions.__And the dream itself. __Ansem is still really inside of me, isn't he__? __He __seems to know that the __d__arkness is still there. It makes me want to despair in the reality that I'm confronted by.__ As Mickey said though, a__ light can be found even from the deepest darkness.__ Can the same hold true for me?_

"Can you sleep properly now?" Mickey lowered his hood, looking worriedly into Riku's face.

"Of course I can. I'll be fine. It was just a bad dream after all. We all have them, don't we?" Riku asked, attempting to sound confident and he smiled at the King, who still looked wary and somewhat skeptical.

"Oh, really?" Mickey inquired, folding his small arms across his chest and raising an eyebrow at the boy.

Riku shook his head and laughed. "I see how it is. Contrary to what I expected, it looks like you're not giving me any credit here." He grinned at the King, hoping that a smile could hide his sadness.

As if lured by the contagiousness of laughter and smiling, Mickey shook his head and chuckled. "Whew! I expected you to say something like that since I can't really help with your dreams. However, I had hoped that you could rely on me to help when you're awake, at least."

"Don't say that. I'm sorry, Mickey. You know I do rely on you," Riku sighed and slumped his shoulders slightly feeling downcast more than ever, and Mickey's words didn't help. They only succeeded in making him feel worse.

Mickey tilted his head, looking confused. "Eh? What's to apologize for? In any case it's not like anything bad has happened, so there's no need for it."

_It wasn't a bad thing? REALLY?__ My darkness summoned Ansem here! I put us both in danger because of it. __How is that seriously not __a bad thing?_ Riku thought angrily to himself, but couldn't bring himself to say the words to the King, knowing that Mickey would have a comforting reply that he just did not deserve.

_"__The Darkness inside of you has called to m__e."_ Ansem's words echoed in Riku's mind. A shiver passed over Riku's shoulders at the sudden arrival of the voice. Luckily, Mickey didn't notice this. He seemed to be getting droopy-eyed again. _We're Darkness__... __We are the same __... __You are me._

_No! I am NOT you! _Riku wanted to shout out and... but no_. I will not cry.__I know that in my heart, there is darkness.__So I__'ve__ decided to let us live with the darkness.__I can't lose myself __to __the darkness in__side of me. I can't let go of Sora, Kairi, __Naminé and all my other friends. I can't. I need them... But do they need me?_

"Riku?" Mickey spoke his name, jerking Riku from his silent train of thought.

"Sorry. I didn't say anything, Mickey. I think I'm gonna sleep a little more now." Riku gave the king a stiff smile.

Mickey lay back down once more beside Riku, his eyes fluttering closed. Riku wondered to himself if Mickey had been doing too much with how tired and easily he seemed to lapse into sleep.

"_Follow me, Riku..."_

Riku couldn't hardly take it anymore, nor could he stand to be near Mickey much longer either. He couldn't handle worrying the King any more than he already had.

_I__f I stay near anyone __that is so filled with light __for much longer, I__'m__ sure to fracture their heart.__.. I can't do that. I have to fight Ansem... Alone... Only I can. I can't risk getting anyone hurt because of me. __All right.__I__ have to believe that light __will never abandon me.__The __l__ight will reach even the deepest of my darkness.__I have my friends who are thinking of me__, and that's good enough__.__I will not lose__, but I have to do this on my own. I can't put them through this anymore._

Riku stared a little at Mickey who began to breathe in a gentle rhythm of deep sleep.

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty, but I can't stay with you anymore. I'll go find Xion on my own. I'll conquer the darkness within me, and when I come back, I'll have reached the road to dawn, but until then, I will walk the path to twilight. It will eventually lead me to the way to dawn. This battle is mine alone." Riku turned away from the slumbering King and took his steps quietly until he was a good distance away from him, and summoned the dark portal. "If I can find Xion and bring her back to Sora, then maybe it will help rid me of some of this darkness inside of me, and maybe... it'll ease the pain of guilt in my own heart." And without a glance back, Riku stepped through the portal, ready to begin his search for Xion.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9- The Biggest Nobody of Them All

Riku arrived at The Beast's Castle in a matter of moments, and he breathed in deep, taking in the scents around him. The atmosphere was dark, the looming clouds rolled menacingly across the sky which was a deep purple and black. Because it was so dark around him, Riku had to rely more on his sense of smell rather than his sight. The blindfold tied around his eyes and the dark of the night surrounding the magnificent castle had rendered him practically blind. He could just barely make out shadows through the blackness of the soft cloth. Riku stood with his hood pulled up around his face, hiding his features, and listened to the sounds around him. The chirping of crickets filled the night air, a soft wind rustled through the trees as he began making his way up the stone walkway toward the entrance of the castle. He sniffed the air quietly, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. There was no scent, and he wondered if he was too late in his search for Xion.

Almost as soon as he thought this, everything became still. The wind seemingly came to a halt, the chirping of the crickets stopped. The sound of footsteps approached him from behind, and Riku stood up straight, his stance ready. He breathed. Something about the approaching figure's scent was familiar, and yet he couldn't quite place it. "I found you, impostor," the voice spoke, and it was surprisingly female. Riku tensed, prepared. "My orders are to track down and assassinate the impostor." Her voice was surprisingly soft, monotone and yet there was a hint of strength behind it.

"Huh, is that right?" Riku sneered, still not bothering to turn around. He could feel her now, he could sense the move she was about to make, and could hear her summoning a weapon. He summoned his own. "Go ahead and try. If you think can." Her footsteps quickened in pace, and Riku whirled around, to face a very small form dressed in the same black coat as he, the hood pulled up and over her head, cloaking her features just like him. He couldn't see her face. The teen moved into a battle stance, striking his weapon outward, and he realized the thing in the girl's hand was the keyblade. The moment it made contact with his Soul Eater, Riku was baffled. This wasn't the normal strength of a keyblade or it's wielder. _I'll humor her for a bit. _Riku thought to himself, feeling amused. The keyblade was a fake, or it wasn't real, or maybe it was just a replica of the real thing, he wasn't sure, but he would find out. He allowed the girl to push him back, offering her a head start to test her strength, and his hood fell off of his head, but she seemed to pay it no mind, and neither did he.

The keyblade's wielder swung her weapon, wildly and fiercely, and Riku almost pitied the girl, acknowledging the fact that she really had no real move or fighting style of her own. She seemed to be in a blind rage, swinging her keyblade. It was almost too easy. He let the fight carry on for a few moments, as she summoned a blast of fire, which he easily countered with his own release of Dark Firaga. The impact sent the cloaked girl flying backward, but she wasn't done. She got up and with a yell, raced toward Riku, leaping in the air with they keyblade raised high above her head, ready to land on arial attack on the silver haired boy.

Riku mused over how sloppy her moves were, and he was too fast as the girl landed hard on her feet, nearly toppling over. He could smell the sweat beginning to build on her skin, and he could hear her panting breaths. _I should probably stop before she passes out... This isn't at all the strength of a true keyblade wielder. Sora would've never been..._

The Organization girl had now decided to attempt an attack from behind, and Riku spun around fast, too swift for her botched move, and slammed the blunt side of Soul Eater into the girl's abdomen, sending her flying backward toward the gate. Her keyblade went soaring up in the air, flipping manically before it landed hard into the stone, thrusting itself into the ground before him. The girl called Xion was breathing hard, clutching her stomach as she sat on her knees, her hooded face had looked up toward where Riku stood, his back to the girl, Soul Eater thrust outward. He could feel her eyes on him, and then he heard the petite figure grunt with exhaustion, before the sound of her body hitting the ground followed. Soul Eater dematerialized, and Riku turned, slowly walking toward Xion's fallen body.

The girl stirred and moaned, and his curiosity overtook him. Riku went down to one knee in front of her and pulled back the girl's hood. He lifted one side of his blindfold up, revealing one brilliant, aquamarine eye to get a better look at her face. His eye widened as he gasped in shock at the reveal of her face and how familiar it was. Puzzled, Riku stumbled back, staring at the shadow of the girl in shock. With a grunt, the black haired girl, Xion, pushed herself up and gazed upward toward Riku.

"Your face..." was all he could manage to say about the girl. He never imagined the face of Kairi, and of someone else, to be staring back at him. "Who are you, really? And why do you have a keyblade?" the silvery-violet haired boy demanded to know. The familiarity of her was almost overwhelming, and the confusion as to why she'd obtained Sora's weapon was even more perplexing.

Xion pulled her hood back up over her head, hiding her face once more. "Tell me first," she began, staring down at the stone ground underneath her. "Why you are dressed as one of us." She looked up at him once more, and Riku walked away from her, unable to face her anymore. He couldn't explain to her why. She most likely wouldn't even begin to understand the importance, and so instead he spoke one sentence and that summed it up enough for him.

"To make sure that my best friend... sleeps in peace..." Riku walked toward the keyblade, still wedged into the ground, and clasped a gloved hand around it's hilt. "I don't know who you're supposed to be, but... you can't fight fire with sparks." He told her matter-of-factly, and as he held onto the keyblade, he raised it above his head studying it, feeling it. It was nothing like the power of the keyblade he'd felt before when he'd wielded it or even just held it. Sora's keyblade was different. It was filled with a purifying rage and energetic light. This keyblade didn't even feel like half of that. Maybe a fraction of the power the real keyblade possessed. "This keyblade, it's sham... worthless," Riku stated, not missing a beat and he tossed it aside, a nearly powerless, incomplete, imitation weapon and listened to it clatter next to the fallen girl.

Xion gasped as the weapon whipped toward her and landed next to her. "My keyblade is not a sham! What gives you the right to say that!" Riku couldn't help but admire her tenacity and had to give her credit for it, but this girl was getting herself mixed up with the wrong people and they were attempting to use her for all the wrong reasons. Riku could hear the girl clambering to her feet, could see the shadow of her figure moving as she grabbed her keyblade and came rushing toward him, an angry little growl escaping her lips. She lifted it ready to strike, and Riku easily dodged it, ducking underneath her, with a spin and slamming his fist with just enough force into her back to send her to the ground once more. She fell and the keyblade vanished.

"Find a new crowd," Riku told her as he rose to his feet from his crouch. "Trust me. Those guys are bad news." He turned from Xion, as something weakened inside of him. He was almost sure this was her. This was the girl he had to bring back to DiZ, but he couldn't take her by force. Not like this. Not while she was wearing that face.

"Why!" Xion's voice came once more from behind Riku. "You're the real sham!" He stopped, barely inclining his head over his shoulder toward No. XIV. Her words hit him hard. She was right. She could see right through him. She could see right through the act, he'd been putting on, with complete ease. He could feel something inside of him begin to ache, and Riku had to resist the urge to clutch at his chest. Instead, he opted to turn his face completely away, lowering his head. _You're not one of the good guys. You never have been. You never will be. Even a replica knows this. Who are you trying to fool?_

"Fair enough," Riku answered, refusing to show or succumb to any weaknesses, particularly in front of this girl, the one who wore the face of someone more dear to him than almost anyone else. "You could say I am... the biggest nobody of them all." He frowned and moved away from Xion, walking toward the castle gates that would lead him back into the forest ahead of them. He needed to get away, he needed to gather himself before his darkness could swallow him whole. He could hear Xion's scream of frustration echoing from behind him, and he felt guilty. _I'm sorry... I'm sorry this had to happen..._ _I'm sorry it had to be me to do it. I'm not one of the good guys. Not when I'm doing things like this..._ Maybe that was why he chose to let her go, to convince himself he was, no matter how much he wasn't.

Riku found himself wandering around The Beast's Castle, avoiding the forest for some unknown reason. Not wanting to be seen by anyone, he tugged his hood up once more over his head, attempting to melt within the shadows of darkness that so mimicked himself. He walked toward the back of the castle and saw a small landing. At least Ansem was quiet tonight for a change. It left his head clear enough to properly gather his thoughts. Riku lept up to the balcony effortlessly, thinking back to something that he remembered from when he was little. A promise that he had made with someone. He outstretched his hand, remembering what it was like when he summoned the keyblade from Sora's hand to his own, remembering the promise he made that evening on the beach when he held a keyblade for the first time.

Riku attempted to summon the keyblade, hoping that it may show the light still shining within his own heart, but to no avail. His endeavor failed miserably, and something cracked a little more inside of Riku. Why was this replica Organization member, No. XIV, this Xion girl able to summon a keyblade, even if it was just a shell of the real thing, but not him? Was he truly taken by complete darkness now? A complete creature of the dark, unworthy of summoning and wielding a keyblade? Mickey had once told him that even in the deepest darkness, there was always a little bit of light shining through, but now, he wasn't so sure Mickey was right anymore. Riku sighed, slumping his shoulders in defeat and he threw back his hood, letting the wind rush through his long, layered locks of platinum-violet hair and he stared out over the rustling treetops around him. 

* * *

_"Hey! Slow Down! Would you just wait for me!" came a small, panting voice from behind the little silvery haired boy. _

_"Giving up already? C'mon Sora," the five year old Riku taunted the little brunette boy chasing him. He was wearing a yellow, sleeveless shirt over a pair of black shorts with blue and white sneakers on his small feet. On each wrist he wore a blue sweatband lined with yellow. _

_"That's enough! I can't run anymore!" Sora panted, and Riku couldn't help but chuckle at his best friend as the two made their way toward the paopu tree, young Riku's favorite place to sit and enjoy watching the waves ripple on the ocean's surface. He could smell the salt drifting off the water. The sun was slowly setting in the sky, giving the ocean an orange hue, the sky various shades of red, pink and yellow as the massive, glowing circled orb seemed to rest behind the ocean's current. _

_"Oh!" the brown, spikey-haired boy exclaimed as he lept to his feet. He was wearing a white t-shirt, red shorts and a pair of brown sandals on his feet. "Ahoy! We're over here!" He waved his little hand high in the air, and Riku inclined his head, glancing in the direction of where Sora was waving and saw his best friend's dad standing with the boat, waiting to take the boys back home to the main island. "Riku, race ya!" Sora challenged, playfully tapping his friend on the shoulder with his fist. "First one to the boat gets to be captain!" he urged enthusiastically before jumping off the tree and taking off down the pier. Riku just grinned as he stood up and began walking, not bothering to chase his friend this time. "C'mon!" Sora called, not looking back to his friend. "You call that running!" _

_He walked down the wooden pier and hopped off of it landing on his feet, cat-like, in the sand as he followed his friend to the boat where Sora's father waited. As Riku walked along the beach, he noticed a man he didn't recognize. The man turned to face Riku, and the little boy stopped, turning to look at this person he had never seen before. "Hmmm?" His large, aquamarine eyes widened in surprise. "Hey. Did you come from the outside world?" He questioned, knowing he'd never seen this person here or the main island before. He was a total stranger, so he had to of came from somewhere, and it wasn't his island. _

_The man who stood before him had dark brown hair, the top brushed back over the crown of his head, with strands dangling at the sides of his face. His eyes were a dark, sapphire blue and he had a young, kind face. He wore a strange shoulder crest of armor on his left arm, a tight, grey shirt with red straps making an X formation across his chest, and a pleated pair of khaki-colored hakama pants. The man didn't look at all dangerous. He appeared to be in maybe his late teens, the five year old Riku gathered as he studied the older boy in front of him. "Huh? Why would you say that?" the older boy, appearing surprised by Riku's words, questioned him. _

_"Because nobody lives out here, and I know you're not from the main island," Riku replied easily, not missing a single beat. Everyone on the island knew everyone because of how small it was, and everyone knew that nobody lived on this side of the island. _

_"Smart kid," the man replied, looking right back at Riku. "So, how about you? What are you doing here?" He seemed to be attempting to make conversation, and the little boy obliged, even though he was still skeptical._

_"Oh, my friend's dad took us out on the boat. This is where we like to play but, they won't let us row out here by ourselves. Not till we get older." Riku kicked at the sand underneath his shoe._

_"Must be hard, stuck in one place," the older boy seemed to sympathize with how the young Riku was feeling. _

_The little boy began walking toward the ocean, and stood at the edge of the shore, staring out over the ocean's surface. "I heard once, there was a kid who left for good." Riku turned around to face the older boy who seemed to be giving him a peculiar look. "So how did you get here anyway?"_

_The dark haired man ignored his question. "Is there some reason you're interested in the outside world?" he asked the younger boy, holding his hand out in an inquiring gesture. _

_Riku felt a blush creep up on his cheeks and he turned away from the man, to look back out over the ocean. "Yeah. I wanna be strong one day," he admitted, and realized he'd never told anyone about that, and it felt good to say what he was thinking. Riku didn't stop. "Like that kid who left. He went to the outside world. I bet he's really strong now. I know it's out there somewhere... the strength that I need."_

_"Strength for what?" the man asked, and Riku honestly didn't mind it. Nobody had never really talked to him about this or asked him these kinds of questions before, and the fact that this man was from the outside world had intrigued the boy. He could feel something warm coming from him, a kindness and that he would be easy to trust. Usually Riku was very wary of strangers, but this guy was a lot different. _

_Riku turned and looked toward the dark haired man. "To protect the things that matter." He smiled at him, his uniquely colored eyes shining with determination. "You know, like my friends!" _

_The blue-eyed man smiled back at Riku and gave him a nod of his head in acknowledgement and understanding. "Outside this tiny world is a much bigger one." He walked toward Riku and stopped short in front of the young boy. Riku watched in wonderment, as the man held out his hand and large flash of light began glowing and surrounding it. In his hand materialized what appeared to be an overgrown key, with strange angles and blades coming off of it. He dropped down to one knee in front of the boy and held the large key toward him. "In your hand, take this key. So long as you have the making, then through this simple act of taking, it's wielder you shall one day be. And you will find me, friend. No ocean will contain you then. No more boarders around, or below, or above, so long as you champion the ones you love." _

_Riku watched the man as he spoke, listening intently and slowly reached a small hand up to grasp the hilt of the large key, and the dark haired man let go of it, leaving Riku holding it on his own. He could feel a warmth spread through him, a strong sense of light, of destiny and protection, something he'd never felt before, and Riku felt much older than his young years at that very moment. How many five year old children did this sort of thing anyway? He stared at the key, his hand gripping it just a little tighter, when- "RIKU!" a voice snapped him out of his reverie and he let go of the key, both he and the dark haired man startled by the voice._

_"Huh?" Riku looked up to see Sora standing on the edge of the pier waving his hand back and forth. _

_"C'mon! Hurry it up!" Sora called, and Riku raised his own hand waving back toward his friend. _

_"You've gotta keep this a secret, okay?" the man's voice spoke up over Riku's shoulder and he turned his head to look back at him. "Otherwise, all the magic will wear off." _

_Riku nodded his head understanding, and the man next to him smiled, raising a hand to rub the top of Riku's silver head affectionately. He smiled at the little boy and laughed, causing Riku to laugh as well and he squeezed his eyes shut as the older boy ruffled his hair. Riku took one last look at him, giving him a big smile and then raced off to meet with Sora who was now running toward him. "Hey! What was that all about!" Sora asked curiously._

_"Eh, you know," Riku responded, remembering what the blue-eyed man had said to him, and he turned from Sora, placing his hands behind his head and crossing one foot over the other. _

_"Know what! Why won't you tell me!" Sora insisted, practically bouncing out of his sandals. "Who was that guy? Somebody you know?" _

_"Maaaaybe," Riku replied criptically, as he walked away from Sora, heading toward the dock where Sora's dad was waiting with the boat. _

_"Aw, there you go again! Just tell me!" Sora pleaded, throwing his arms in the air, hopping up and down, following his friend. _

_"I really can't. I've gotta keep it a secret," Riku tried to explain, and he always kept his promises. He wouldn't tell anyone the secret of what just happened. Not even Sora. He was going to be a wielder of that giant key someday, and that key was going to give him the strength he needed to protect all of his friends there on the island. Sora, Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie._

_"Not with me you don't! I'm like, the best secret-keeper in the world!" Sora persisted, and Riku felt bad that he couldn't tell his friend, but he knew how important it was to keep this secret. _

_"Nice try," Riku giggled as he raced off toward the end of the pier and to the waiting boat by the dock. _

_"Aww, Riku!" Sora whined as he went after his friend. Riku hopped into the boat along with Sora behind him, and Sora's father began rowing them home. The words that man had said repeated themselves in Riku's head, and he ignored the growing complaints from Sora before finally his friend became quiet. "Protect the things that matter." He spoke softly, looking at his now quiet friend who seemed to be dozing off in the boat, as Sora's dad rowed them to the shore of the main island. "I wonder what his name was...?"_

* * *

Riku sighed. So much for protecting the things that matter. How long had he been gone now? Days? Weeks? He'd left without a word to Naminé, and wondered if she were angry with him, or possibly even worried? No, she wouldn't be angry. Naminé would understand the importance of this, but if she were anything like Kairi, she might be a little irritated that he left without a word. Riku wondered with a jolt in his heart if Naminé were even safe, and remembered how horribly DiZ had mistreated her. He also wondered if Naminé had made any progress in Sora's memory restoration, and felt the sudden urge to go back to the mansion.

His head and his heart were swirling with so many different thoughts and emotions, he wasn't sure what to think or how to progress. He felt worried about Naminé's well being and if Sora were getting any closer to awakening, something inside of him was hurting and he was unsure as to why because his own thoughts were so jumbled, he couldn't work out why he felt the way he did. He felt angry with himself for ditching Naminé in the way he had, and also wondered about the King as well and if he would be upset with Riku. He rolled his shoulders, attempting to shake everything off and tried one more time to summon the keyblade, but nothing came.

He was no longer entitled to inherit the keyblade. It had moved on from him and chose someone else, and it was because of his darkness. Riku clutched his hand to his chest, pressing his fingertips hard against it as he summoned the dark passageway to lead him back to the mansion. He had nowhere else to go after all, and needed to eventually get back and at least make a report to DiZ, but how and what would he say? If DiZ found out Riku had Xion in his clutches and just let her go, he'd be furious. He could just lie his way out of it and say he hadn't tracked her down yet, but that he could keep looking. _Yeah, that's what I'll do. I don't know if I can handle DiZ's crap tonight... At least not right now. There's just too much going on. But I know he's going to reprimand me anyway, so it's a double-edged sword. Lying would be the lesser of two evils. _

Much too soon, Riku found himself standing outside of the mansion once more. With a deep breath, he let himself inside, carefully and quietly making his way across the familiar foyer, up the stairs and found his feet leading him toward Naminé's door that take him inside of her bright, white room. He could feel his heart beginning to pound in his chest with anxiety and was unsure of why he felt so nervous being back here. No, he knew why, he was lying to himself. He felt a horrible twinge of guilt as he raised a fist to knock gingerly on Naminé's door.

"Come in," Naminé's small voice called from the other side. The familiarity of her voice made his heart leap into his throat, and while he badly wanted to see her, at the same time he felt sheepish from just getting up and leaving without a word. Now here he was, back again. Riku reluctantly opened the door and stepped inside. He straightened his shoulders and walked somewhat professionally into her room, as if this were some kind of business meeting. He pulled a chair out from the end of the table and took a seat, almost too formally for his own good. There was an awkward sensation in the air, and Naminé raised her lovely head to look up at Riku's blindfolded face. He could see the relief fill her features and the sound of her voice was surprising.

"So we meet again," she said gently, happy that he was alright, grateful that he was alive and relieved that he was back. If she had a heart, it would be climbing up into her throat. Naminé had to resist the urge to want to get up from the table and run into his arms.

Riku studied her momentarily. He thought back to when Naminé had mentioned something was going on with her powers, and how some of Sora's memories were missing. He also thought back to how Naminé had promised him she would take care of Sora for him. He wasn't sure why, but he felt somewhat frustrated with her, even though he should be grateful for all that she had done for him. Maybe he wasn't frustrated with her, but frustrated with himself. Why was she being so casual? Riku wondered if maybe it was his darkness creeping up inside of him, rising to the surface. "You made me a promise," he stated bluntly, placing his hands on top of his knees and looking straight toward Naminé. He hoped he hadn't sounded too harsh. He silently cursed himself, hoping he hadn't hurt her feelings. This wasn't all her fault after all. She didn't create Xion.

"I remember. It was to look after Sora," Naminé replied, not missing a beat. She lowered her head, eyebrows drawing upward. Sadness and guilt filled her the soft violet blue of her eyes and tainted her pretty features. "I'm sorry. I'm not sure I've kept that promise very well." She stared down at her sketchbook laying on the table in front of her. On the sketchpad was a drawing of a red haired being, a black haired being and a blonde haired being, that of which Riku did not recognize.

Riku instantly softened, knowing that he made her feel bad. He desperately needed to know though what was going on with Sora and why Naminé's powers were no longer working for her, and why Sora's memory process had come to a complete standstill. He remembered DiZ telling him as much as well. "Can you tell me what's happening?" he asked, sounding more gentle.

"Some of Sora's memories are missing," Naminé told him sadly.

_Missing memories? How is something like that possible? All Naminé did was just put herself into Sora's memories in Kairi's place and tamper with them, right? So how was it possible his memories would just disappear like that? _"How could that be?" he questioned, still keeping his voice soft, for fear he might upset her again. Riku couldn't help but feel selfishy inclined to just wanting his best friend back. All he wanted was for Sora to wake up again, so he could talk to Sora, tell him he was sorry for everything, and because the world needed Sora. Kairi needed Sora.

"Sora's memories are escaping from Sora's Nobody into a third person," Naminé explained, worry resounding in her voice. "And now... they're starting to become a part of her.

Riku sighed softly, staring down at the table. He knew exactly who this person was. The girl he'd just met with the familiar face. The little black haired girl who could wield the keyblade. The petite girl that looked like Kairi, and to some extent, Naminé. This was why he couldn't hurt her or drag her here. This is why he held so much compassion for that tiny replica. For some reason he could tell what Naminé was suggesting and felt a surge of sympathy for Xion. She had no control over the fact that Sora's memories were escaping into her. She never asked to be created. This wasn't her fault. "Isn't there a way to bring back just Sora's memories?" Riku urged Naminé.

"If they're still separate, then I think I can take out fragments of it," Naminé attempted to explain as she reached down to pick up her sketchbook and stare at the drawing of the three people on the page; the three Nobodies. "...but if her memories and Sora's memory fragments are completely weaved together I would need to untangle them from each other, and that would take more time. Which means, it would taken even longer before Sora can wake up again, and DiZ wouldn't tolerate that." She sighed and laid the sketchbook back down on the table, and looked back up at the blindfolded, young man in front of her.

"So what can you do?" Riku inquired, not wasting any time.

Naminé lowered her blonde head again thoughtfully. "If I just jump in and rearrange her memory, than Sora might wake up... only to find out that nobody remembers him anymore." Naminé finished her last sentence, looking Riku straight in the face.

His mouth opened slowly, and he kept himself from gasping out loud at this revelation. That wouldn't be right or fair to Sora. It would be wrong, and cruel, to want him to wake up, but then forgetting who his best friend was, and Sora having no one around him to remember him and all the memories and happiness that they shared over the years, that he'd shared with everyone, and all the friends he'd made would no longer know who he is. It would be unfair, and something like that would deeply hurt Sora. Riku was not about to let that happen. He didn't take his eyes off of Naminé's form, but she couldn't seem to face Riku, almost as if she were ashamed.

"That's a risk I just can't take," she told the silver haired boy, shaking her head. "It's too late either way. Sora's awakening has already been delayed." She paused for a moment, raising her head once more to look at Riku, and yet again he was grateful his eyes were covered. He wouldn't want Naminé to see the worry and sadness in them. "Sora's Nobody and the one that's absorbing his memory... none of us imagined that they would fight so hard to become their own people," she continued explaining. "Unfortunately, the only real solution... is for them both to go away..."

Riku's heart lept at these words, coming to the understanding that Sora's Nobody and this other person, this girl Naminé spoke of, the girl Riku had fought prior to this meeting with Naminé , would have to return to Sora and cease to exist or else his best friend would never wake up again. He listened quietly and intently as Naminé proceeded on. He never realized something like this would have to happen, and Riku knew DiZ would leave it up to him. How could he just go and take Xion by force with her wearing that face?

"Did you know her face was blank at first? But now... there is a face that is clearly visible. I think that's proof that she has entered Sora's memories. Sora's memories, Sora's Nobody's memories, and her memories... they're all a jumbled mess now, and to put them back into one, I'm afraid there's no other way."

"Alright," was all Riku could respond with. He couldn't think of anything else to say, but the sadness of the situation, the revelation that an innocent girl would have to return to Sora and no longer live, and if she didn't, Sora would never wake up again, it was just too much for a brain to handle.

Naminé stared down at her sketchpad, before flipping the page over to a blank one and grabbed a crayon. She seemed almost uncomfortable, and unable to face Riku, and he sat quietly in his chair observing her. "Naminé? What is it?" Riku inquired gently, and the petite, blonde Nobody raised her eyes up toward Riku, filled with curiosity.

"Did you find her? DiZ told me where you went after you left. He said he sent you and King Mickey in search of this girl and that you were supposed to be bring her back here if you did find her, but Riku," Naminé paused, fidgiting with her crayon.

"I encountered a girl who can wield a keyblade," Riku answered, attempting to rid Naminé of her obvious distress. "We had a small fight outside the castle, but the keyblade wasn't like the real keyblade. It was almost like a shell of the original keyblade. It lacked in power and strength. I...," Riku lowered his head shamefully. "I let her go with a warning. I just couldn't bring her back here by force. Not with her wearing that face," he mumbled, unable to look at the blond in front of him. "I guess I just need some time to figure things out first."

Naminé had turned once more back to her sketchbook and the scraping of the crayons she used resounded on the paper. Riku tilted his head curiously. "Naminé, why do you still draw if you can't use your powers? You once explained to me this is how you link the chain of memories back together again, so if you can't fix Sora's memories right now..."

"Is this her? Is this the girl you fought?" Naminé interrupted quietly as she raised her sketchpad. Sure enough, a black haired girl with a black coat and a Kingdom Key keyblade, just like Sora's, was drawn on the page. Riku nodded his head. "This is her, Riku. This is Xion. She is the one who has Sora's memories. You know what this means. She must return to Sora. She's a part of the Organization and that means-"

"It means, I have no choice," Riku sighed, allowing himself to slump down into the chair. "What am I going to do? How am I going to get her here? I can't force her here. I can't rough handle her and just drag her here if she's not willing to come, but I can't let Sora down either. She's an innocent girl. She didn't ask to be created or brought into this world, and she didn't take Sora's memories on purpose. Dammit," Riku despaired, and out of nowhere Naminé stood up from her chair and slowly approached the boy before he found she was standing right in front of him, a strange expression on her face as if she were torn between something. "Naminé, wha-," Riku began, and did not expect the little Nobody's next move. She threw herself up against him, wrapping her arms tight around his shoulders and squeezing him to her. "Naminé? What are you doing?" Riku questioned, a little surprised by the girl's actions.

"Isn't this what friends are supposed to do for each other when they're sad? Give a hug?" Naminé questioned him, not letting go of him and she laid her head against his shoulder, burying her face into the crook of his neck.

"Yeah. Maybe," Riku replied, before he lifted his arms up and wrapped them around Naminé's frail body, holding the girl as close to her as he possibly could and he buried his face into the softness of her hair, breathing in her feminine scent, and for the first time in a long time, Riku was starting to feel somewhat at peace in her arms. He couldn't remember the last time someone had hugged him so hard, and so comfortingly, as if attempting to pour all of their light into him and make him warm again, and not cold with darkness. The last time he had been hugged like this was before Mickey had left the mansion. He had forgotten what it felt like to be held so close and so tenderly by someone, and Riku had to swallow hard against a lump rising in his throat. "Thanks, Naminé," he whispered to her and if possible, she squeezed him a little tighter. She was, after all, the only friend he had here really.

"It'll be okay, Riku. You'll get everything figured out. I believe in you," Naminé encouraged him softly, and he shivered a bit as her lips brushed up against his ear while she spoke. There was a loud clearing of the throat near the door, and the two broke apart just as quickly as they had embraced.

"I see you have returned, Riku," the voice of DiZ spoke up, as the cloaked man swept toward the two teens. In each hand he held a bar of blue, sea salt ice cream. "And I would say empty, handed," he added accusingly, raising his eyebrow as he held out the two bars of ice cream toward Riku and Naminé. The two lowered their heads, unable to face DiZ, their cheeks blushing pink. "You two seem to have gotten awfully close now, haven't you?"

"I was just giving Riku a hug because he was feeling bad. That's all," Naminé stated strongly, holding her head up and looking straight into DiZ's one visible eye. "Thank you for the ice cream," she added, taking hers from DiZ's outstretched hand, before going to sit back down in her own seat at the other end of the table.

"Feeling bad about what, exactly?" the bandaged man inquired as Riku took his ice cream, and he folded his arms behind his back.

"I couldn't find Xion," Riku lied, not facing DiZ and not eating the ice cream bar he held in his hand.

"I see," DiZ replied, sounding a bit skeptical. "Riku, if I may have a word with you out in the hall." Riku cast a glance in Naminé's direction. Her head was down, and she was taking small bites of her ice cream as if to distract herself and he sighed, standing up and following the cloaked man into the hallway. DiZ turned around on his heel to face the blindfolded boy, a serious expression on his face. "I have noticed that you and Naminé seem to have gotten close to one another. A little too close. I do not want this interfering with the tasks you are assigned if you want Sora to wake up again."

Riku scoffed and rolled his eyes. "There's nothing going on, DiZ and nothing will interfere with Sora's awakening," he told him, but something inside of Riku made him feel like he was lying. Was there really nothing going on?

"Hmmm. You must remember, Riku, Naminé is a Nobody. Nobodies cannot feel love the way that you or I can feel love for other human beings. She is not a human being. She lacks that which would make her capable of feeling love or care for another individual. A heart. She does not know pain. She does not know fear. She does not know love. Therefore, when this is all over," DiZ paused and crossed his arms over his chest, staring hard at Riku. "I will be leaving Naminé's elimination up to you." Riku dropped the melting ice cream bar he was still holding in his hand, and it landed on the floor with with a splat.

Before Riku could even respond to DiZ's request, the man had disappeared just as quickly has he had arrived. _What..? Naminé's... elimination? How could he honestly ask me of something like that? Isn't it bad enough he wants me to drag Xion here, and now he wants me to get rid of Naminé? No... no this is too much. I can't deal with all of this. _Riku felt something inside of him give, and the strength in his legs wavered. He slowly slid down the wall and drew his knees up to his chest, resting his aching head against them. He was only 16 years old, being given the tasks that a man much older than him should be doing. How could DiZ expect him to do something so heinous and revolting? Eliminate Naminé? Why, so she could just fade back into darkness, doomed to suffer there for all eternity? He knew what the darkness was like, and if there was a person who didn't deserve to fade there, it was Naminé. All was quiet in the hall. Not a sound was coming from Naminé's room, and DiZ had seemed to just evaporate, and so Riku was left all alone, left in despair.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10- From Within His Heart

Riku wasn't sure how long he sat in the hall that night after DiZ had left him alone to ponder the things said. The bandaged man's words repeated themselves over and over again in the silver haired teen's mind, causing a horrible squeezing sensation in the middle of his chest. How could DiZ even ask something like this of him? How could he even bring himself to do any sort of physical damage to someone as fragile and delicate as Naminé? It wasn't possible.

He couldn't even bring Xion here by force let alone want to harm a hair on Naminé's head. He might be a creature of the dark, but his compassion for people was just too strong to allow him to succumb to such a horrible thing. Riku buried his face further into his knees, hoping the pressure would ease the throbbing in his skull. He didn't hear the light footsteps coming his way he was so lost in thought, but the moment a small hand touched his shoulder, he felt himself relax and his heart leap into his throat. He knew it was Naminé the instant she came in contact with him, and he breathed in her scent, remembering DiZ's words. _"Naminé is a Nobody. Nobodies cannot feel love the way that you or I can feel love." _

"Riku? Are you okay?" her soft voice questioned as he could hear her re-positioning to sit on her knees next to him. "Riku?" He felt another small hand reach around to his face and cup his cheek, applying just enough pressure to coax him to lift his head. "Look at me," she demanded, her voice still soft but strong, and the boy obliged. His eyes could see the outline of her form through the blackness of his blindfold. "What did DiZ say to you?"

"It's nothing, Naminé. Just the same, usual bull from him," Riku sighed. "Putting more on me than he should be, but don't worry. I'll be fine. I'll figure it out. I always do, right?" he added trying to smirk, but just couldn't even find the energy to give the girl a smile.

"Listen, how about we go and visit Sora? It's been awhile since you've been back here, and I think he might like to see you," Naminé soothed, changing the subject, running her thumb over Riku's cheek, and her eyes softened, a gentle smile appearing on her pink lips, and Riku had to resist the urge to reach out and hold her face in his hands. Going to visit Sora actually did sound like a good idea. He hadn't seen his best friend for weeks, and while Sora may not be able to respond to him, he knew that somewhere deep down in his heart, Sora would be able to hear him.

"Yeah, I'd like that," Riku responded with a nod, and pushed himself to his feet. Naminé stood up next to him and the two walked down to the basement, through DiZ's computer room, much to Riku's relief, that was devoid of him, and down the long hallway that would lead to the pod room and into Sora's room. He stayed quiet as they made their way there, only looking up to see the shadows of Donald and Goofy asleep in their pods, unsure of what to say and thinking of the things he wanted to tell Sora, but certainly not wanting to say them in front of Naminé.

They approached the room and Naminé opened the door. Riku followed silently behind and they both stood in front Sora's pod, staring up at his sleeping, suspended form in awkward silence. Riku turned his head down at Naminé, who inclined her small, blonde one and he could see the worry in her eyes. Riku tried to smile as best he could. "Naminé, would it be okay if I had some time with Sora alone? Don't worry, I'm alright. I just, kinda want to talk to him by myself if that's okay," he added feeling somewhat shy, and felt the heat rise to his cheeks. In truth, he did want to be by himself, because with Sora, he could completely spill his guts and there would be no worrying about anyone judging him or laughing at him or telling him how foolish and stupid he was. He couldn't talk to DiZ in the way he'd needed, and the last thing he wanted to was lay his burdens on Naminé after all she'd been dealing with, with her powers not working, DiZ constantly on her case, so she was out of the question. Not only that, but Riku never wanted her finding out what DiZ asked of him.

Naminé closed her violet-blue eyes and nodded her head once. "I understand, Riku," she smiled back at him and then turned and walked away, slipping quietly out the door, leaving the two best friends alone.

Riku gazed back upward toward Sora's sleeping form and folded his arms across his chest. "Look at you," he mused. "Still sleeping like there's not a thing in the world wrong. You should be back on the island right now taking care of Kairi, not here being lazy and taking a nap." Riku chuckled to himself, just imagining the sorts of protests Sora would be trying to spout off was enough to make laugh. "You've always been like that though, haven't you? I'd go out and work my butt off on making the raft so the three of us could get off the island travel to another world, and you'd go and make yourself a nice little bed in the sand and snooze on the beach. Now here you are snoozing in here. Nothing has changed." Riku laughed again as he thought back to the time he'd began building the raft while finding Sora and Kairi lounging around on the beach.

* * *

_15 year old Riku carrying a rather large, thick and heavy log with one arm was slowly making his way along the shoreline of Destiny Islands, shaking his silver head in disbelief at the sight before him. There was that spikey-haired, lazy bum yet again, laying sprawled out in the sand taking a nap and a feisty redhead thumping him on the head. The brown haired boy, who'd promised to find them provisions for their trip, was doing what he always did. None of the work. Riku laughed to himself as he began making his way toward his two friends, Sora and Kairi. He could hear them conversing, something about worlds, and he just caught the enthusiasm in Sora's voice. "I wanna see 'em all!" _

_Kairi turned her red head toward Sora, her violet-blue eyes just as wide, vibrant and excited Sora's. "So what're we waiting for!"_

_"Hey!" Riku piped up as he approached his two best friends lounging on the beach. "Aren't you guys forgetting about me?" he questioned his friends teasingly. "So, I guess I'm the only one working on the raft?" He grinned, a sarcastic expression on his face, and shook his head at the two, slightly astounded that the both of them would be so lazy and not actually want to help him build the raft so they could get off the island. He tossed the log to Sora, who attempted to catch it, but failed dramatically, falling over backward with an "Ahhh!" as the weight of the log impacted him. Riku ignored it, knowing Sora was fine and walked up to a giggling Kairi, placing his hands on his hips. "And you're just as lazy as he is." _

_Kairi raised a hand in an almost embarrassed fashion and placed it on the back of her head. "Hee, so you noticed?" She blushed, raising a fist to her mouth and giggling behind it. "Okay! We'll finish it together!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms out and hopping on her feet a bit, seemingly excited. Riku flopped down into the sand on his rear, enjoying the spray of the sea on his skin, the breeze in his shoulder-length, silvery violet hair and the smell of the ocean, making him feel somewhat relaxed. "I'll race you!" Kairi challenged, throwing her fist in the air. _

_"Huh?" Sora looked up, somewhat aghast, and still sounding a bit sleepy. Kairi race them? Was what his expression seemed to read._

_"What? Are you kidding?" Riku asked her, knowing that without a shadow of a doubt, he and Sora would both outrun Kairi easily, especially with their competitive streak. _

_Kairi giggled and ignored them. "Ready? GO!" She shouted, placing her hands over her mouth for added emphasis. Not even a second later, both Sora and Riku were leaping to their feet, almost as if a sudden burst out energy had shot through them, Sora getting a second wind, and they took off flying across the sand. They both looked at each other, huge smiles on their faces, because even though they were both competitive, both liked to try and beat the other in anything and everything possible, nothing could deny their closeness and that they had been best friends since toddlerhood, and nothing would ever change that, at least in their hearts they believed it more than anything. Riku could hear Kairi's laughter ringing out from behind them as three best friends raced along the shores of Destiny Islands._

* * *

Riku sighed, laying his hand against the cool glass of Sora's cocoon of sleep. "Back then, I really thought that nothing would ever change, even if we did make it off of the island. It's my fault we ended up like this. Sora?" Riku opened his eyes from under the blindfold, looking up toward his peaceful friend. He wanted to take his blindfold off to get a better look at Sora, but the thought of it frightened him. What if he caught his reflection in the glass and could see the orange eyes, eyes that did not belong to him, staring back at him?

Riku wasn't sure how much more he could bear, because even now, he was doing all he could just to hold himself together. "Sora, you were a fool. A damned fool to keep looking for me. You never should have went to Castle Oblivion. Your pursuits didn't find me regardless, and now this has happened to you. You should have left well enough alone. Why would you want to come find me anyway? I'm the one who tried to hurt you. I nearly got you killed, and yet you still came looking for me, why? Why, Sora..." the guilt squeezed somewhere in the depths of Riku hard, and he placed a gloved hand against his pounding chest.

* * *

_The vessel rocked gently on the ocean's waves, the sound of the water rustling up against the boat almost reminded him of home, and Riku felt a sense of resentment and rage intermixed with a slight relief build up inside of him as he caught his friend walking along the wooden deck of the ship. His feelings confused him. He was glad he was safe, but at the same time, he wanted to hurt him. Maybe if he hurt him, Sora could feel some of the pain Riku felt, for he did not show weakness. To anyone. Especially Sora. "I didn't think you'd come, Sora," Riku called out coldly to the spikey-haired, brunette boy who had turned to look up toward the source of the voice. Sora gasped, surprised at seeing his best friend on the ship. "Good to see you again," Riku told him, unsure if he was lying or not._

_"Well, where are Donald and Goofy!" Sora demanded to know, not even bother to acknowledge the fact that his best friend was standing right in front of him. Maleficent was right. Sora had replaced him. Donald and Goofy were more important than over 10 years of friendship, and that thought pained Riku, it hurt so much that his best friend would just give him up, trade him in for new best friends. Were he and Kairi not even important anymore? Riku covered up his pain with anger, making Sora believe he was against him, and in a way, he was. Why bother teaming up with Sora if he was just going to find brand new companions, replace him and Kairi with someone better?_

_Riku narrowed his aquamarine eyes at Sora. "Are they that important to you? More important than old friends?" he couldn't stop himself from questioning, and Riku observed the brown haired boy. "Instead of worrying about them, you should be asking... about her." Riku stepped aside to reveal a very unaware Kairi from behind him. She was leaning against a pole, her eyes open at half-mast, almost as if she had been weakened or was sick and had no energy to stand on her own. Riku knew why, but Sora did not. _

_"Kairi!" Sora exclaimed as he whirled around fully, his fists thrust out at his sides. _

_"That's right," held a hand out over her head. "While you were off goofing around, I finally found her," Riku stated condescendingly. Sora began to run toward where Riku and Kairi stood, and he watched as a man with long, black curly hair, a long, thin, black mustache, a red coat and a silver hook for a hand stepped out in front of Sora blocking his way. _

_He was known as Captain Hook, the captain of this ship, but Riku wasn't about to pay this man any respect whatsoever, his ship or not. The light glistened off the silver of the Captain's hook. "Not so fast. No shenanigans aboard my vessel, boy." The Captain sneered and next to him stood his first mate, dressed in a blue and white striped shirt, patches of white hair curving around his ears. He was known as Mr. Smee._

_"Riku! Why are you siding with the heartless!" Sora pressed, his voice angry and urgent, his gloved hands clenched into fists at his sides. _

_It did nothing but irritate Riku, but also he recalled the power Maleficent had bestowed on him, and that was his ability to control the Heartless. "The Heartless obey me now, Sora. Now I have nothing to fear," the silver haired boy simply explained, and it was true, right? The Heartless did obey Riku. He didn't have to worry about them trying to swallow his heart as long as he held sway over them._

_"You're stupid!" Sora burst out, his fists getting tighter, his eyebrows drawn down in anger and confusion as to why his best friend was acting this way, and Riku couldn't help but wonder why he was acting this way? Why he was so angry with Sora, and why he didn't want him anywhere near Kairi, but all he could think of was seeing Sora laughing, joking and having a great time with his new friends, one of Sora's new friends refusing to allow Riku to travel along with them on their ship, and his own heart ached. Why didn't they want him to come along? This was supposed to be a journey that Riku, Sora and Kairi were going to embark on together, and they weren't. They had all been separated. Riku was almost positive that he didn't want that anymore. "Sooner or later they'll swallow your heart!" Sora insisted. _

_"Not a chance. My heart's too strong," Riku replied arrogantly. But was his heart really too strong? Was Sora right? What was wrong with him, and why did this feel so satisfying? He ignored Sora's voice of protest, ignored the sorrow in his friend's voice, as well as the twinge of guilt he felt on the back of his neck as Sora blurted out his name. Instead, he just carried on. "I've picked up a few other tricks as well. Like this for instance." Riku held his hand out and summoned what appeared to a dark, shadow form of Sora. It was the anti-form of Sora, a dark form. _

_"You can go see your friends now." Riku turned his back to Sora as the trapdoor underneath Sora's feet opened and he fell through, his yell of surprise echoing. Riku turned and looked back at Hook. "Let's get under way, already. And keep Sora away from Kairi, until we're ready to land." _

_Hours later, after arguing with Captain Hook about retrieving Kairi's heart, Riku holding a lifeless Kairi in his arms began backing away from Sora who was now rushing toward them. "Riku, wait!" he cried out, raising a hand to try and stop his friend. Riku backed away, using the darkness in him and summoning Sora's anti-form once more, only this time, making sure he summoned it in battle mode to fight Sora. He didn't care about anything beyond getting Kairi's heart back, and if that meant getting Sora out of his way, well he'd just have to do that then, wouldn't he?_

_It wasn't long after, Riku found himself encountering Sora once more in Hallow Bastion. He remembered the promise he'd made when he was a child, a secret he swore to keep and that he had been the one chosen by the keyblade, not Sora. Upon Sora's arrival, Riku had obtained the keyblade, calling Sora a delivery boy while throwing him a wooden sword, telling him to go play hero with the wooden sword._

_As he made his way back to Maleficent's Castle there in Hallow Bastion, Riku couldn't help but wonder what was happening to him? He was changing, walking the path of darkness and while it was fulfilling, it was empty and lonely, and even starting to scare him. He'd never had these thoughts before, had he? Why did he want Sora to suffer so much, and why was he filled with so much rage, hate and jealousy? _

_Sora didn't have what it would take to save Kairi, but he did. Riku did everything he could to convince himself of that. If he saved Kairi and Sora couldn't, then things would be different, and more than anything he wanted to save Kairi's life, bring back her heart before Sora ever could. Maybe a semblance of Riku had hoped that if he could save Kairi, Kairi may realize his affections for her. Donald and Goofy had followed him, the true keyblade bearer, into the castle. His irritation was on the rise as once again, there was Sora, following him. _

_"Quit while you can," Riku warned him, fists clenching in anger at his sides. _

_"No. Not without Kairi," Sora retorted stubbornly. _

_"The darkness while destroy you," he stated bluntly as he used his dark powers, changing his clothes into a protective suit of darkness over his body, into a dark form. He hadn't realized it then, but he was the one slowly being thoroughly consumed by darkness, not Sora. _

_"You're wrong, Riku. The darkness may destroy my body, but it can't touch my heart. My heart will stay with my friends. It'll never die!" Sora replied, sounding determined, his eyes piercing sharply into Riku's. _

_"Really... Well, we'll just see about that!" Riku replied, raising his hand, throwing it back and launching a massive ball of dark energy Sora's way. The darkness filled him up from the inside out, and all he could think of was destroying him right then and there. The impact of the blast, cast a strong wind, blowing back his hair from his eyes, and he could see Sora clearly as the dark blast made it's aim straight for Sora. He taunted Sora, asking him how he could fight without a weapon, but Sora proudly told him that he had a better weapon, that he didn't need the keyblade. His weapon was his heart. The words disgusted Riku, it made him sick to his stomach to think that Sora's heart was stronger than his, and so he took a jab at Sora, accusing him of having a weak heart, and what good would a weak heart do for him. Sora fought back with words, holding his wooden sword, readying himself for the first attack, when a flash of light happened in Riku's hand clutching the hilt of the keyblade. It had disappeared._

_With the keyblade re-obtained, Sora readied himself, while Riku looked on, stunned, summoning his dark sword, Soul Eater, and the two best friends, no former best friends and rivals, were soon engaged in a long, ferocious battle. They assaulted each other, physically and verbally, attacking relentlessly and ruthlessly. Riku swung his Soul Eater, unleashing dark powers he never knew existed inside of him until Maleficent had awoken them, doing everything he could to take Sora down, but Sora's strength was his heart and it sent his power through the keyblade, and much to Riku's dismay, he was taken down by Sora and left wondering how and why as he fled the scene._

* * *

Riku rested his forehead against the glass, keeping his hand on it, and he squeezed his eyes closed underneath his blindfold, grateful for it covering his face, even though Sora wasn't awake to see him. "I'm so sorry, Sora," Riku murmured. "I'm so sorry for what I did to you... for what I put you through. You were supposed to be my best friend, and I was just so taken by the darkness that I couldn't see clearly enough around me. I didn't realize what I was doing and what I had done until it was too late."

He could just hear the things Sora would say to him, so clearly in his mind, it was almost as if Sora were communicating with him, but he knew that his mind was just playing tricks on him.

_"Riku, c'mon, man. You know I could never hate you! I understand! I know you were manipulated. So does Kairi. We don't hate you, Riku. Me especially. Don't you remember what I said when we were kids? You're my best friend! You always will be. No matter what happens, nothing will ever change that." _

"I tried hurt you Sora, even get you killed," Riku responded to Sora's voice in his head and wondered briefly if he were crazy, talking back to a voice like that.

_"Stop beating yourself up, Riku. You didn't try to kill me. If you really wanted to kill me, I think you could have easily and you didn't! You protected Kairi, Donald and Goofy when I disappeared, right? You fought against Ansem. That's how I know the real Riku wasn't completely taken by darkness, and your heart found it's way back home, didn't it? You're still you, Riku. You're still my best friend." _

Riku just shook his head, bemusedly. He still wasn't sure if this was Sora communicating with him, even though he was sound asleep, put under Naminé's mysterious spell, or if he was just conjuring the things Sora might say to him up in his own mind, but if he had his way about it, it might be okay if it really were Sora responding. "Best friends forever, right Sora?" Riku sighed and stepped back. "A lot's been happening. I'm not even sure if what I'm doing is right or not. I know why you can't wake up right now, Sora. You have a Nobody and his name is Roxas. He holds some of your memories inside of him, but there's also something else going on. The Organization has created a puppet replica of Roxas. Her name is Xion." Riku paused, thinking for a moment, gathering his thoughts.

"Sora, from what I understood merely going based off of what Naminé told me, Xion has your memories of Kairi. Her face is nearly identical to Kairi's. Even some of her personality is similar to Kairi. The memories you had of Kairi escaped from Roxas and into Xion because she is a Replica of your Nobody. She's a lot like the Replica Vexen had created of me. I know you know who he is. I know you saw him and you fought him. Naminé told me all about it. I'm sorry if he warped your view of me... He is the shadows of my heart after all. No, he didn't change how you percieve me. I did that all by myself."

Riku chuckled sadly and shook his head. "I don't even know what I'm saying. DiZ has left it up to me to bring Xion back here to you, Sora and I can't. I just can't. I can't force her here like that. Not wearing that face. DiZ told me to bring her back here by force if I have to, and I've already fought her once. I can't do it again, Sora. I feel guilty just knowing that I hurt her, and I won't do that again. So, it's my fault you haven't woken up yet."

_"Don't be ridiculous, Riku. Just because I'm not awake yet, doesn't mean it's your fault. You're not the one who put me in here! You put too much blame on yourself for everything, man. You need to quit doing that. Not everything is your fault and not everything that happened leaves the blame on you. You gotta quit that, Riku. Think positive! I'll be awake before you know it, and then me, you and Kairi can all be together again!" _

Riku could hear Sora chastizing him, as well as hear Sora's accompanying laughter, but instead of this comforting him, it just made him feel worse. How would Sora wake up if Riku was too mentally weak to bring Xion here by force, like DiZ told him to do? "Sora, it's all been laid on me. How am I supposed to just drag that poor girl here and force her back to you? She'll disappear and cease to exist. No one will even remember her or her name. She'll be nothing but a faded, lost memory. Why would any person in the world deserve a fate like that?"

_"Riku, that doesn't make you weak. That makes you strong and shows you have a strong heart. You don't want someone to suffer by your own hands, and if anything that makes you a great person! You care about what will happen to her, and that's good! Give her the choice to make the decision, Riku. Let Xion decide what she wants to do, and give her time to think about the choice she should make. That's the right thing to do. Forcing her back here is the wrong thing. Your heart's in the right place. You just can't see it. You've been hanging out in darkness for too long." _

The teen sighed, running a hand through his silvery-violet locks of hair and gazed back up toward Sora. "It's not just Xion, Sora. It's... it's everything. DiZ has put so much on me, and honestly if it weren't for him, I may have completely given in to the darkness by now. I sometimes can't tell if he's an ally or an enemy, a friend or a foe because he's so confusing. Darkness in Zero is a perfect name for him because of how complicating he makes everything out to be. He can be so kind, but yet he can be incredibly cruel... Sora, not only does he want me to hurt Xion, but he wants me to hurt Naminé, and I can't do that to her... He told me that after all this was said and done, he was leaving Naminé's elimnation up to me. How can I do that, Sora? They're just two, innocent girls that never asked to be brought into this world, so tell me, how in the hell does he expect me to hurt them and send Naminé back into darkness?" Riku's voice trembled with anger as he could feel his emotions rising in his chest.

"Naminé has been so good to me while you and Kairi have been gone. She's done so much for me, and cared about me more than anyone has in a long time. If it weren't for her, I might have died. She's healed me and cured me when I've come back injured after battles, she's let me sleep when I've needed the rest, she's soothed me and comforted me and supported me more than anyone ever has in my entire life. She's stood up for me and looked out for me when things got to be too much with DiZ, and I've done the same for her. DiZ treats her so horribly, Sora...," Riku growled, and he could feel his darkness swirling inside of him, and took deep breaths to control his anger.

"There have been so many times I've just wanted to rip him apart. I even hit him once, and it felt so satisfying. He just pisses me off. He's so negative toward her, claiming she can't feel anything because she's a Nobody when I know that's crap. He's almost made her cry. She trembles when he comes near her sometimes if she knows she's made a mistake. If she can't feel then why does she feel sorrow and fear? DiZ claims she's just remembering it from her former self, but I don't buy that, Sora."

_"Hmmm... Riku, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you have feelings for Naminé. You do, don't you? Huh? HUH?"_

"W-what!?" Riku was startled by the mischievousness he could hear in Sora's voice. He had to of just be thinking of these things himself. I mean really. Was Sora actually talking to him even though he was asleep? Nah, couldn't be. Riku was just conjuring up these thoughts himself, making himself believe Sora was responding to him... right? "I... do I have feelings for Naminé?" Riku thought outloud, placing his thumb and index finger against his chin. He thought about the affections he carried for Kairi, and the way he felt toward Naminé now, and how vastly different they were. Riku realized right then and there that he did. The feelings he felt toward Naminé were nothing like the feelings he had for Kairi, and these were stronger than what he'd felt toward Kairi in the past.

"You know... I think you're right, Sora. I think I might have feelings for Naminé... that's why I can't do this to her. That's why I can't eliminate her like DiZ wants me to. I care too much for her. It hurts though, because I know I can't be with her in the same manner that you can with Kairi," Riku sputtered, feeling slightly jealous and embarrassed. "Heh, listen to me. I sound like a jealous little boy. Maybe I was? Maybe I still am? I guess it just sucks, knowing that I've fallen for someone I can't be with. I guess no matter what, I'm always going to be alone."

_"Riku, you try and do way too much on your own. I might be sleeping, but you still have friends out there. You still have Kairi, Naminé, and the King. When me, Donald and Goofy wake up, you'll have us by your side too!"_

"That's just it, Sora. How can you wake up if I don't bring both Xion and Roxas back to you?" Riku exclaimed. "How can I? DiZ told me I didn't have a choice. If I wanted to save my best friend and have him wake up again, then it's on me to bring both Xion and Roxas back to you. Naminé told me it was the only way. The only solution to wake you up is for them to both go away, go back to you and give you all of your memories back so you can wake up again. If we didn't and you woke up, none of us may not even remember you, Sora, and we can't take that risk." Riku exhaled a shaky breath. "Sora, when I fought Xion, she could see right through my farce. If anyone is fake, a big nobody, it's me. Xion knows it."

Riku felt something shift painfully inside of his heart as he remembered Xion's words.

_"You're the real sham!" _  
_"Fair enough. You could say that I am... the biggest Nobody of them all..." _

"People call her a fake, a sham, and I've even heard Saïx call her an "It" and it's not right. I called her keyblade a sham because she can wield one and so can Roxas. She can wield one because Roxas is your Nobody, and she is his Replica. It wasn't as powerful as the real thing though, but I have a feeling she will get that strength. She's taking it from Roxas. Roxas is becoming weaker because of her, but once she disappears, I won't have that advantage anymore. Sora, I'll have to fight Roxas to bring him to you, there's no question about that. I know I will have to, and I'll do everything I can to win, but if I do, it'll most likely be because I've given in fully to the darkness. Sora, I can't even take off my blindfold anymore without my eyes changing. He's still inside of me. He's still there, tormenting me and haunting me. My appearance, my heart is slowly changing. If I do this, it's likely that it'll change me forever."

Riku could feel a tingling sensation behind his eyes, and he closed them tight behind his blindfold, taking a few breaths to compose himself. "I'm scared, Sora," Riku admitted to his slumbering best friend. "I'm honestly terrified. I'm not scared of the darkness itself, but I'm scared of what I'll become, of what will happen to me, of what I'll change into. How could I face you, Kairi and everyone on the islands if that happens to me, Sora? I can't fail you though. I have to do this, because I can't fail you. If I fail you again, I don't know what I'm going to do..." Riku turned his back to Sora and leaned against the cocoon of sleep, hunching over slightly as he dropped his face into his hands. He slid slowly down the pod as he felt the strength waver in his legs once more, and landed hard on his rear, dropping his hands into his lap, resting his silvery-violet head against the cool glass. "Why can't you be awake?"

* * *

Hours went by before Naminé had finally become worried enough about Riku. He'd spent a lot of time down in Sora's room, and she hoped he was okay or that he hadn't disappeared without a trace yet again. She tiptoed quietly back to the room, to Sora's door and could hear Riku's muffled voice talking to Sora from the other side. She couldn't quite make out all of the words he spoke, but she could catch some, about him blaming himself for Sora not being awake, could hear the changes in his voice going from angry, to quiet, to sorrowful and frightened. Then there was nothing but silence. Worried, Naminé rose to her feet and silently let herself into Sora's room. She could tell Riku was about to break just by looking at him. He sat hunched over, head hanging, his long platinum strands of hair were falling against the sides of his face. His legs were sprawled out in front of him, slightly bent at the knees, and hands lay listlessly in is lap.

Naminé had seen Riku in several different conditions before, but never had she seen him look so lost and on the edge of despair, so vulnerable, and so helpless. He was still just a kid after all, and everything he had done and been through had made this boy wise beyond his years, Naminé knew this, but it still remained unfair. She advanced toward him nervously, her hands folded up to her chest, unable to stop herself. She stopped just at his side, and was close enough to him that she could see he was shaking. "Riku...?" Naminé spoke his name softly, uncertain of how the best way would be to be approach him. "Hey," she said gently touching his shoulder, and she felt him tense up under her hand, so she quickly moved it off and backed away a few steps. That was unlike him. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Naminé," Riku replied, voice sounding drained. "I'm just really tired," he lied, attempting to hide the fact that he was embarrassed that Naminé found him in such a disheveled state. Riku turned his head further away from Naminé, not wanting her to see his face, even though his eyes were hidden by his blindfold.

Naminé felt a bit irritated by this, and she folded her arms over her chest as she stared down at the boy who hadn't even bothered lifting his head to acknowledge her. "Hmm? No, I don't think you are alright. I've come to know you, Riku, and this isn't like you at all." The blonde Nobody sighed softly. "Riku, I could hear some of the things you were saying in here, to Sora. You can't blame yourself for Sora not being awake yet. That's not your fault. After all, I'm the one who let my loneliness get the better of me. I was the one who tampered with Sora's memories. If anything, you should be blaming me. I'm the one who made those mistakes."

Riku's head shot up swiftly, and he turned his blindfolded face in Naminé's direction, his mouth down turned into a frown. "Mistakes? _Your_ mistakes? Naminé, are you kidding me? I'm the one who messed up more than anyone. I've made more mistakes than anyone. Don't you get that? If I had never given in to the darkness, this never would have had happened. None of this would even be going on right now. Sora would still be awake and safe on the island taking good care of Kairi. I screwed that all up all by myself." His voice was trembling with anger, but his tone remained low and quiet.

"Riku, let me ask you something," Naminé began, still looking down at him. "Where would you be right now if none of this had ever happened? If you had never given in to the darkness, where you would be?"

"Probably still on the island, living normally and being happy. Hanging out on the paopu tree with my best friends, walking along the beach, eating snowcones on hot days, going to school. I'd probably be doing every single thing that every other kid my age would be doing, but I'm not," Riku added bitterly.

"Would you honestly be happy there if you were still on the island? Didn't you want to leave and escape and see new worlds?" She looked at him sharp, her violet-blue eyes studying him hard.

Riku ignored her. "Naminé, I destroyed my home. I allowed my entire island, my friends and my family, to be destroyed by the darkness I let in. I threw everything away for darkness. I never meant for it to happen, it just did, but still. It did. Because of me. My whole island was devoured by darkness, and if it hadn't of been for Sora, it would probably cease to exist."

* * *

_"That's a lie!" Riku burst out in protest against the grey-blue haired Organization member, known as Zexion, who stood in front of him, his hair parted and brushed over one side of his face, so he could only see one eye. "I remember everyone from the islands. Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie. Kairi, and Sora too! They're my-my... my closest friends," Riku dropped his head sadly, closing his eyes and shaking his head back and forth. If they were his closest friends then why couldn't he see them in his memories?_

_"And who threw away those friends? Maybe it's your own actions that you've forgotten," Zexion taunted the distraught boy. "You destroyed your home!" _

_The darkness whirled above Riku dangerously, drifts of wood, chunks of broken land and trees flying at him in a swirling vortex of debris, and Riku jerked his head back and forth, gasping in shock at the scenery taking place around him. His home was slowly being devoured by darkness, and Riku never realized it until now. "This is... that night!" he gasped in disbelief. _

_"All of the islands you grew up on were sundered, scattered. Many hearts were forever lost to the darkness. Because of what YOU did!" Zexion explained, pointing outward toward the edge of the piece of island he and Riku stood on, still intact. An image of Riku formed before him, his back facing the two of them. _

_"You hated being an islander, so you opened the door to darkness and destroyed the islands. It was YOU!" Riku stared aghast, horrstruck as the realization of what he'd done slammed him in all different directions. "You were pulled into the darkness, and now you belong to the darkness," Zexion would not let up. Riku held out a hand and looked at it, not wanting to believe the words coming out of the man's mouth. He laid his hand against his pounding, aching chest. No, he couldn't have done this... How many hearts were lost to the darkness because of him? How many people no longer resided on the island because of his choices?_

* * *

"Riku," Naminé began, attempting to console him, but she was unsure of if he was even consolable at this point, because it wasn't difficult to see how wrapped up in remorse he was, and how overwhelmed he was by what still remained to be done. "It wasn't just you. You were being manipulated by the darkness. Xehanort, Ansem, found the darkness in your heart, and he tampered with it. Every single heart contains some sort of darkness, except for the seven pure lights which are the seven Princesses of Heart. You know this. It could have been anyone. You just happened to be his target."

"What if I make those same mistakes again, Naminé? DiZ is making me do things I don't want to do because it scares me to death. He's testing me, knowing that it terrifies me. It could change me forever, but he reminded me if I don't, I'm going to let Sora down. I have to capture both Xion and Roxas and bring them back here to him. They're the only key to Sora's awakening." Riku gazed upward at Naminé, and he felt a lump rise in his throat. He swallowed it back hard. "If I could at least do this one thing for Sora, maybe it would help make up for the pain and suffering I caused him. Maybe it would ease the troubles he feels in his own heart. Maybe I could be forgiven a little bit for my past mistakes?" Riku's voice cracked, and he turned his head away from Naminé.

The emotion was now brimming to the surface and he wasn't sure how much longer he could hold it back. He'd been holding it back for so long, because he did not show weakness, and when he did he chastised himself for it. He needed to be strong and stay strong for Naminé, and especially for Sora. This had been drilled into his head over and over again, but right now, he felt weaker mentally, and physically, than he'd ever felt in his entire life.

"Riku, please _please_ don't say that. You know Sora doesn't think like that. Sora knows that you're not to blame for everything. He understands. I've seen his memories, Riku. I know how Sora feels about you. You're his best friend, you're like his brother. He looks up to you. He loves you, so please," Naminé pleaded with him, trying hard to get him to understand, but she could see the Riku was on the verge of completely breaking.

Naminé, my darkness still has a strong hold on me!" Riku errupted, his tone much louder now, loud from anger, loud from fear and remorse, causing Naminé to jump in surprise . "If my darkness were to take over me again, then what would Sora think of me? What if my darkness took over me completely, and I couldn't control my actions or myself? What if I hurt my best friend yet again? I was a monster, Naminé. I tried to kill my best friend. If darkness takes hold again, then what would keep me from accomplishing that task this time around? What would keep me from becoming a monster again?" Riku felt like he was going to cry, and he wasn't sure how much longer he could keep himself from doing it.

Even so, he didn't move his face away from Naminé's, but her outline through his blindfold was becoming increasingly distorted. "I'm scared, Naminé. I'm terrified of myself because I know what I'm capable of, and I know what may happen, and I don't want to take that risk, but I have no choice. I can't deal with it Naminé. I can't handle it," he admitted, his voice weak, his chin quivering. His eyes burned, his nose tingled, and he could feel everything he'd been holding back inside of him for months on end manifest itself, brimming the surface, and finding it's way out of Riku's eyes. He gazed at Namine for a moment pursing his lips as the first tears slid down his cheeks from underneath his blindfold. Not wanting Naminé to see but knowing she already had, Riku dropped his head into his hand, his other one pressed against the floor as if holding himself up, keeping himself from collapsing, and Naminé felt what could have once been a heart rise up into her throat. She gasped softly as the first quiet sob escaped the boy in front of her.

"Riku," she breathed and began to advance toward him, and he held a hand up, turning his head away from her as if not wanting her near him.

"Naminé, can you please... can you please just let me be alone for awhile? Please?" the silver haired boy did his best to hide the tears in his voice, and be discreet about it as possible, but there was no mistaking it, and Naminé absolutely would not have that. Right now more than anything, he needed a friend, and she was going to be that friend.

"No, Riku. I won't leave you alone. Not like this," she told him firmly, as she moved to stand behind Riku. She dropped to her knees, wrapping one arm up from underneath his own arm, clutching his shoulder with her hand, while wrapping the other arm around him and squeezing his other shoulder with her other hand and underneath her hold, he completely fell to pieces. She could feel his body shaking, jerking underneath her grasp with each silent sob, and he leaned back into her as if trying to seek comfort just by this small motion, keeping his hand over his head. Tears escaped unrelentingly from underneath his blindfold, and he didn't even make attempts to suppress his sobbing. It wasn't worth it, because he couldn't control it.

Riku's breath hitched heavily against his aching throat, and this only caused Naminé to hold him even closer. His weeping was quiet, painful and his chest heaved and jarred with each breath he took. "I'll become a monster if I do this. Sora and Kairi will never forgive me," Riku whispered through his tears, and Naminé felt some of the warm, salty water splash on her hand. She pulled him back to her as much as she could, and laid her face against his shoulder, and just let him cry, knowing he needed it, and she fought back tears of her own, as the ache in her empty chest became more apparent and obvious than anything she'd ever felt in her entire life, and she couldn't help the few tears that escaped her own blue eyes.

"That's not true, Riku. You won't become a monster," Naminé cooed, shushing him. "Sora's heart is strong and pure. Kairi's heart is unadulterated light. They aren't ones to hold grudges against the people they care about more than anything in the world, and that's you, Riku. I know this because I have Kairi's memories, and I also know because of Sora's memories."

"I don't deserve Sora's friendship. Not after everything I did," Riku wept, squeezing his hand tighter around his face, his head falling back to Naminé's shoulder. He didn't have the energy to hold it up anymore. Everything was pouring out of him like waves spilling over the shoreline, and he couldn't remember the last time he'd really honestly cried like this. Maybe when he was just a little boy, when he'd lost a family member he'd loved, Riku wasn't sure and his brain was so impacted with everything else, and his heart ached so severely and physically, that it was all a blur. He couldn't even try to concentrate right now even if he wanted to.

"But Sora feels you deserve his friendship, and he wants your friendship," Naminé corrected him, as she began gently rocking the weeping boy in her arms. Riku realized, briefly, how long it had been since someone had held him so close and so tenderly, that someone cared so much for the things he was thinking, or feeling or going through. Usually he just dealt with his problems all on his own, not telling anyone about anything. He was never really the overly affectionate type, and would mostly just try and blow people off when they attempted to comfort him, but now he didn't care. It was just him and Naminé here. Sora was asleep. He couldn't see what was going on, he couldn't hear the things being said, or at least Riku was sure that he couldn't. He hoped that Sora couldn't anyway. He may not care right now, but later, Riku knew he'd feel embarrassed by displaying such a weakness and vulnerability such as this.

He'd never want Sora to see him in such a state of disarray, in a form of such misery and despondency, but he couldn't help it. Riku's grief had finally found it's way out, it overflowed the surface like a flooded river, and it didn't matter because it wasn't stopping anytime soon. His eyes kept burning and refilling with spiteful tears, and just as he felt he was starting to calm down, another thought floated to the surface and sent him over the edge once more. He could taste the salty water at the corners of his mouth and on top of his lips.

Riku clenched his teeth hissing through them, and all he could do was cry harder, each sound of his soft sobbing more heartbreaking than before, while Naminé held him in her arms, whispering kindnesses and reassurances to him, ignoring his protests, when he called himself worthless, letting him know he wasn't. She just shooshed him gently, reminding him that he was still a human being and not a creature of the dark. Riku listened to her, but no matter how hard she tried, he couldn't believe her and didn't know if he ever could, and so he just continued to lay in her arms, unable to speak anymore, the only sound to be heard was his lamenting sobs echoing off the walls surrounding them.


End file.
